


Kingdom of Albion

by A_once_and_future_love



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Arthur courts Merlin, M/M, Magic Mirror - Freeform, Movie Fusion - The 10th Kingdom, Princess Morgana, Wolf Arthur
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-21
Updated: 2014-01-29
Packaged: 2018-01-09 12:46:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1146169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_once_and_future_love/pseuds/A_once_and_future_love
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once upon a time, there was spoiled princess cursed to live as a dog, an evil queen desperate to conquer the 9 kingdoms of Camelot, a big bad wolf that wasn't all bad, and two brothers pulled into the middle of it all. </p>
<p>Now, Merlin and Gwaine must face trolls, huntsmen, gypsy curses and more as they journey to save the kingdoms and find the way back home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prison Break

 

Merlin watched as the sun set over the forest outside his window. Well, if Central Park really counted as a forest. He supposed that he should count himself lucky; not many people get the chance to live so close to the park, especially on a waiter's pay. His brother, Gwaine, was the janitor of the building, which was the only way they afford to live there. The owner of the building, Agravaine De Bois, always had him running around doing odd jobs, threatening eviction if they were completed in an unreasonable amount of time.

The raven-haired boy looked away from the window and glanced down at his watch. He cursed as he threw on his dark blue hoodie and grabbed his bike, running out the door and down the hall to where his brother was attempting to fix the elevator. "Hey, you mind giving me a ride down? I'm running late."

Gwaine turned to him and motioned to some exposed wires. "Look at this. How do they expect me to fix this? This is an electrician's job. I have no idea what I'm doing. I have half a mind to go up to De Bois and give him a piece of my mind!"

Merlin chuckled as he boarded the elevator. "Yes, but then you would get fired, we would get evicted and then we'd be forced to move back in with Gaius." The brothers shuddered at the thought. They both loved their uncle like a father, him having raised them since Merlin was seven and Gwaine was twelve, but he had a bad habit of pestering them about not having their lives together; telling Merlin that his dreams to open his own restaurant in Central Park were unrealistic or scolding Gwaine about flunking out of business school.

"Yeah, well it might be worth it just to see the look on Agravaine's face. Stupid ol' velociraptor." Gwaine muttered as the elevator doors closed.

"Hey, don't expect me back too early. I'm covering the night shift for Will." Merlin reminded him. "There's some leftover lasagna in the fridge for dinner. Let it thaw out before put it in the oven and please try not to set the kitchen on fire again."

"Aw, you worry about me, little brother?"

Merlin scoffed. "I worry about having to buy a new countertop."

The doors opened and Merlin pushed his bike out into the lobby. "Hey! On the way back, use the stairs, just in case." Gwaine called after he younger brother. "And be careful going through the park, alright?"

Merlin gave a slight nod in response and rolled his eyes at his brother's concern.  _What could possibly happen?_

* * *

 

The royal carriage cut across the countryside at the edge of the 4th kingdom. Inside sat Princess Morgana, the last living member of the House of White, looking dreadfully bored as she stared out the window. "Where are we going again?" she asked her maid Grunhilda for the fourth time.

"We are on our way to Beantown to accept the throne they made for your coronation," she explained, ignoring the princess' irritated huff. "But first we have to make a stop at the Snow White Memorial Prison. Your stepmother has made a request for parole, which we'll deny of course." Grunhilda added quickly, seeing Morgana's worried expression. "Don't worry, dearie. We'll be in and out in no time and then off to get the throne."

They were both silent for a moment before Morgana let out a whine."Ugh, I hate being in the outer provinces." she complained, rolling her eyes and pushing a piece of ebony hair behind her ear. "It's so boring."

Grunhilda popped the princess on the knee and gave her a stern look. "It's a necessary evil if you're going to rule this kingdom."

"Just let me know when we arrive at the prison." Morgana muttered, laying her head back and closing her eyes.

* * *

 

The sound of clacking shoes echoed through the prison halls, drawing the attention of two guards who suddenly found themselves unconscious with a cloud of dust. Cenred, the troll king, smirked as he picked the keys off one of the men. Though his magic shoes made his feet ache something terrible, the invisibility they provided made him feel unstoppable. He reached the cell at he was looking for and unlocked the door, sneering at the three younger trolls sitting worriedly inside. Sophia, the only girl, jumped back, startling her brothers.

"What's going on?" Valiant, who the largest of the three, demanded as he tried to look intimidating. Cenred removed the shoes and shook his head with shame.

"You are pathetic." He scolded, entering the cell. "You call yourselves trolls?"

The three looked to their feet with disappointment. "Sorry, Dad." Cedric, the youngest and smallest of them, muttered.

"This is the last time I come and rescue you; do you hear me?"

"Yes, sir." The three proclaimed in unison. The king turned and led his children away from the cells, suddenly stopping as he felt a presence enter his mind.

_Come to me._ A female voice echoed in his head.  _Come to me…_

Cenred followed the voice down a nearby corridor, his children following closely behind. They made their way through a maze of hallways and cellblocks until they came to a long corridor one cell at the very end. Sophia, Valiant and Cedric all stopped and exchanged worried looks at the sign that read "Maximum Security Wing." Cenred, on the other hand, continued.

"Dad!" Valiant called in a loud whisper as the troll king stopped at cell. "Dad, what are you doing? That's where they keep the queen!"

Cenred ignored his children's protests and opened the cell door to find a beautiful woman with dark hair and bright blue eyes smiling evilly up at him.

* * *

 

The carriage pulled up in front of the prison and Morgana felt an icy chill crawl up her spine. Noticing her discomfort, Grunhilda placed a comforting hand on the princess' shoulder.

"Why don't I go in and tell them we've arrived?" she suggested.

Morgana nodded quickly, not taking her eyes off of the stone building in front of her. There was nothing to worry about. The queen was locked away, as she had been for many years now. There was no way she could escape; Morgana knew that for a fact.  _Then why are you so terrified?_ She asked herself, feeling the chill on her spine grow.

After several minutes of waiting for Grunhilda to return, Morgana began to get agitated.

_Maybe I should go in and check on her._ She thought, climbing out of the carriage and slowly walking towards the entrance.  _Just to make sure that everything is okay._

She pushed the door open with a creak and tiptoed inside, aware that the front hall was much quieter than usual.

"Hello?" she whispered, glancing around for any sign of her maid. "Grunhilda?"

The door closed behind her and she screamed at the sight of the chubby old maid skewered into the wall by a sword. She felt strong arms grasp her arms as three young trolls appeared out of nowhere, taunting her as they threw her around. The troll king stood by and grinned as his children attacked the Crown Princess of the 4th kingdom.

"That's quite enough." A silky voice ordered from the top of the stairs.

Morgana looked up fearfully at her evil stepmother, Queen Nimueh, as she descended down the stairs with a large black dog at her side. "You've wandered a little far from your castle, haven't you Morgana? Perhaps you should have stayed there." The queen was now standing right in front of her, grinning in amusement. "My silly little stepdaughter…"

Morgana clenched her jaw and stared defiantly at the witch. "Whatever it is that you're planning, you won't get away with it. I  _will_  stop you."

Nimueh threw back her head and let out a laugh. "Is that so? Because, you see, I believe that you will be begging at my feet for food." Morgana watched as the queen knelt down next to her dog and began to scratch behind its ear. "Do you know what this is, little princess? It's a magical dog."

She rose up from the floor. "I hope you like dogs, Morgana. You'll spend the rest of your life as one."

Morgana's eyes widened as the dog bounded towards her and placed its paws on her chest. The air glittered with magic as the walls around her grew taller and her dark hair began to spread across her body. Her fingers and toes began to grow into her hands and feet, and a tail began to appear behind her, and the next thing she knew, she was on all fours, looking up at… herself.

Nimueh and the trolls all joined in a chorus of taunts and laughs. "Come now, Morgana. Surely you don't greet people on all fours?"

The princess tried to respond, but all that came out was howls and growls. Morgana looked over at the other her, the Dog Morgana, who was now running around herself looking lost and confused. She turned her attention back to the trolls, who were coming towards her, ready to grab her. She quickly darted out of the corridor, taking them by surprise.

"What are you waiting for? AFTER HER!" The queen ordered. Sophia, Valiant and Cedric hurriedly ran after the dog, not wanting to face the queen's, or their father's, wrath.

"She can't escape!" Cedric reassured. "We're in a prison."

* * *

 

Taking the cell keys, Nimueh walked through one of the cell blocks, searching for someone who could be of more use than the troll king's idiotic children. Ignoring the cries to be set free, her eyes scanned around the inmates, stopping when they spotted a handsome man with golden blonde hair watching her quietly from his cell. "You." The queen smirked as she approached.

The man smiled nervously. "Hello."

Nimueh pursed her lips, sensing that there was something different about him. "What are you?"

"Me?" he began to stammer, pawing behind his ear. "An innocent man, falsely imprisoned on a trumped up-"

"Do not make me ask again."

He bit his lip and glanced around. "Half-wolf." He answered, his eyes lighting up like a wolf's before returning to their natural periwinkle. The queen slid the key into the lock on the door and stared at the man.

"If I release you, you must swear to serve me without question. Do you understand?"

The man nodded. "I am your wolf. Loyalty is my middle name."

"I have turned Princess Morgana into a dog. You will find her before the trolls."

Nimueh pushed opened the door and the wolf gave her a low bow. "Arthur Pendragon. At your service, my queen."

Nimueh laid her hand on his head and smirked. "Give me you will, to summon and control you." she ordered.

Arthur hesitated. For a split second, the queen believed that he would refuse, but the wolf looked into the witch's eyes and nodded.

"Good. Now go!"

Arthur darted out of the cell, following the smell of dog through the prison and down into the cellar, rolling his eyes when he encountered three confused trolls standing at a fork in the passage.

"Out of my way, idiots." He mocked, pushing past them and down the corridor with the correct scent, coming to a halt at a large room cluttered with junk. A black Labrador stood in the center, staring into at a full-length mirror with a golden border on the far wall.

Arthur tilted his head curiously, noticing that instead of the dog's reflection, the mirror showed images of a different world; one with tall buildings decorated with strange lights that stood out against the night sky. The image shifted to a large forest with multiple paths cutting across it. A figure with raven hair came into view, riding a strange contraption.

"Huff puff, what do we have here?" the wolf murmured, drawing the princess' attention to him. Before Arthur could stop her, she made her escape, jumping through the mirror and into the strange world. Hearing the trolls coming up the corridor, Arthur leapt in after her.

* * *

 

Merlin was pretty much on auto-pilot the entire ride to work, thinking about everything from the possibility of Gwaine losing his job to the possibility of him getting fired for being ten minutes late for work. Suddenly, his bike lurched and he was thrown over the handlebars, faceplanting the sidewalk. He let out a low groan as he stood up from the cement and looked around at the damage. The front wheel was bent, meaning he was going to have to walk to work and back, but that wasn't the worst part. A pit opened in his stomach when he spotted a black lab lying motionless in front of his bike.

"Oh my god, I've killed it." He whispered, rushing over to the poor animal's side. The pit was filled with relief when the dog slowly raised her head and looked at him.

"Aw, are you okay?" the raven-haired boy asked, scratching her behind the ear. He searched for a way to identify the animal, but she was missing a collar and there was no one around to have gotten away from.

A loud howl echoed over the trees, reminding Merlin that he was alone in the middle of Central Park at night. He stood up and patted the dog affectionately.

"Come on. I'll bring you to my work and get you some food." He picked his bike up off the sidewalk and limped the rest of the way to work, unaware that the granddaughter of the great Snow White was trotting just beside him.

 


	2. A New Kingdom

 

Sophia, Valiant and Cedric looked around in awe at the world the mirror transported them to. "Suck an elf!" Valiant exclaimed, staring out at the strange city. "Where are we?"

"I don't know." Cedric responded nervously. "This isn't part of the Nine Kingdoms."

"It's a magical place. Look at all those lights!" Sophia pointed to the buildings, which had light shining brightly from every window. "They must use a thousand candles!"

They stood staring at the strange buildings for a while before Sophia nudged her brothers. "Hey, let's claim it before someone else does!"

The three trolls all nodded in agreement and held their weapons above their heads. "I hereby claim this land and all of its inhabitants in the name of the Troll kingdom. As such, it will be known as…" the female troll lowered her weapon and looked to her brothers. "What should we call it?"

"How about 'the 10th kingdom of Albion'?" Cedric suggested, earning grins from his siblings.

"THE 10TH KINGDOM OF ALBION!" They proclaimed, raising their weapons higher.

* * *

 

Merlin pushed the kitchen door open with a grunt and lugged his bike inside. One of the waitresses, a brunette by the name of Freya, rushed over to help him. "Where have you been, Merlin? I've been covering for you." She gasped when she noticed a large purple bruise in his hairline. "Are you okay? What happened?"

The raven-haired boy groaned. "I crashed my bike, I lost my wallet and I picked up a new friend." He nodded towards the dog following behind him.

"Aww!" Freya fawned over the Labrador. "What's her name?"

"Don't know. No collar."

Freya pursed her lips as she rubbed the dog's fur. "She looks like a 'Princess' to me."

The dog barked in response and the waitress smiled. "You like Princess?" The dog barked again in response.

Merlin grinned and patted the animal's head. "Well, come on, Princess."

He led her over to a small cupboard on the other side of the kitchen and motioned for her to go inside. "I have to work, so I need you to stay here." He informed her."And try to be quiet or I could lose my job, alright?"Princess sat back on her haunches and tilted her head at the boy.

"Right." He answered himself, leaving the cupboard and closing the door behind him.

* * *

Arthur made his way across the park, following the smell of cooked meat. He let out a low growl of pleasure when he spotted a small restaurant at the edge of the trees.

"No. Find the dog. Find the dog." He whispered, but his want for food was overwhelming. "Well, I can't search for her on an empty stomach." He assured himself as he approached the establishment.

He paused when a familiar scent caught his nose. "I smell dog!" he exclaimed happily, sniffing the air again to be was definitely the princess, but there was another smell combined with it; a sweet, almost intoxicating smell that made him want to howl with delight. Someone delicious had found the princess.

* * *

The trolls continued walking, searching for some trace of the princess. "Look!" Valiant pointed to a section of the path in front of them. "There's been an incident!"

Sophia picked up a small clump of hair from the ground and grinned. "Dog hair!"

"Look at this!" Cedric called, holding up a folded piece of leather. "Calf skin!" His siblings rushed over as he unfolded it and began to empty its contents. He pulled out a small piece of paper and gasped.

"'If found, please return to Merlin Ambrosias.'" He read aloud. "'Apartment 17a No. 2, East eighty-onest street.'"

"Eighty-onest street?" Sophia inquired and he nodded.

"Yeah, that's what it says. Eighty-onest street."

A wicked grin grew on Valiant's face. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

* * *

 

"Hi, can I take your order?" Merlin asked with a smile as he approached the table of an elderly couple. The man opened his mouth to order, but was cut off by another man talking loudly across the restaurant.

"No, when I say rare, I mean just let it look at the oven in terror and then bring it out to me!"

Merlin turned to see Freya looking questioningly at the man whose order she was taking. He watched for a few seconds as the handsome blond continued to enthusiastically order before looking back at his customers.

"I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" The man opened his mouth but was cut off again by the sound of a dog barking from the kitchen. Merlin grimaced. "Excuse me for a second." He ran back into the kitchen and opened the cupboard.

"Alright, you're going to have to go outs-" he stopped when he saw Princess staring up at him next to a pile of flour that had been knocked off the shelf. In the center of the pile, someone had written a single word.

_Danger_

Merlin looked from the writing to the dog and chuckled nervously. "Okay Freya, this isn't funny. You can come out now." When nothing happened, he took a step back from the dog. "Let me guess, you wrote that?" he said, only half-joking. Princess barked in response and Merlin raised an eyebrow.

"Bark once." He whispered, and she complied. "Okay," he scoffed. "Bark twice." When she did, Merlin jumped back in fear and pushed himself against a wall. "Can…can you understand everything I'm saying?"

She barked.

"Stop it!" Merlin shouted, getting seriously freaked out.

The dog gave him a meaningful look and turned her head to the writing. "Danger." Merlin whispered. "Who's in danger? Both of us?" Princess gave a small nod before grabbing his sleeve with her teeth and pulling him towards the door. Merlin followed, getting the message.

* * *

 

"Will that be all, sir?" Freya asked, looking slightly relieved to be getting away from the strange man.

"Actually, I was wondering if you could help me." Arthur replied with a dashing smile. "I'm looking for a charming young man who found my pet dog." Freya's face lit up.

"Oh, so she's yours! I'll have to tell Merlin." She hurried to the back with Arthur following close behind. They cut through the kitchen and over to the small cupboard that Merlin had been keeping Princess in.

She opened the door and frowned. "Huh, I guess he must have gone home and took the dog with him. He did hit his head really hard when he fell off his bike."

Arthur's eyes widened when he spotted  _Danger_  written in flour on the floor and he pushed his way past Freya into the room, discreetly striking out the word with his foot. He could smell that the dog had been in there not too long ago, and that someone else, 'Merlin' she'd said, had been in there with her. The half-wolf inhaled the tantalizing aroma of Merlin and smiled as he turned back to the brunette waitress, who was staring at him with curiosity.

"I wouldn't suppose you could tell me this Merlin lives? So I can thank him for finding my dog."

Freya shook her head. "I really can't. That's private information." Arthur grinned and took a step closer.

"I think that you can."

* * *

 

Merlin entered his building an hour later with Princess at his heels. "Okay, you can stay for one night, but that's it, understand?" The dog barked in response and he sighed. "I'm talking to a dog. I've officially lost my mind." He muttered as the two climbed up the stairs, not noticing the doorman lying unconscious behind his desk.

When he finally reached his floor, Merlin frowned. His neighbor, Mr. Anhora, was asleep in the middle of the hall covered in some kind of pink dust.

"What's happened?" he whispered, edging carefully around the man towards his apartment.

He felt a twinge of terror when he spotted his door busted it off of the hinges. Creeping inside, he was relieved when he saw Gwaine sitting in his armchair, asleep, but unharmed. Loud talking echoed from his bedroom, and he motioned for Princess to stay out of sight while he investigated. The dog seemed to understand and ran over to hide in a nearby doorway.

Merlin quietly lookeded through his bedroom door and froze in disbelief at the sight of two strange looking men standing in front of his closet and trying on his shoes. One of them, who was burly with a shaved head, commented on how scuffed Merlin's sneakers were, and the other, who was gawky with unkempt brown hair, nodded in agreement.

"Hello there." He heard a female voice say behind him, and he whipped around to see a young woman who looked similar to the men, but was shorter with long reddish hair. She held a pair of shoes in front of his face. "These have been badly cared for. They're scuffed, cracked and neglected!" Merlin took a step back, only to bump into the other two, who were standing in the doorway leering down at him. He began to back away towards the windows on the far side of the room.

"Who are you?" he demanded, his voice shaking. "What have you done to my brother?"

"He'll be fine." The burly one shrugged. "Just hit him with a bit of troll dust."

Merlin furrowed his brow. Troll dust? So, they were trolls?

As if reading his mind, the burly one gave him an exaggerated bow. "I am Valiant the troll," he introduced himself "Feared throughout the Nine Kingdoms of Camelot."

"I am Sophia the troll," the woman copied his bow "Dreaded throughout the Nine Kingdoms of Camelot."

"And I am Cedric the troll," the final one bowed "Terrified throughout the Nine Kingdoms of Camelot."

Merlin screamed as Valiant raised his weapon and struck the television set, sending a shower of sparks into the air.  _"NOW WHERE IS SHE?"_ he shouted, the three trolls now surrounding the terrified boy.

"She? She who?"

"Princess Morgana." Sophia explained holding her knife against his face. "We're going to count to three, and if you don't tell us where she is, we are going to make you into a pair of shoes. One!" she dug the knife deeper into his skin.

"Two!" Cedric pointed his sword at Merlin's chest.

"Three!" Valiant raised his axe to strike the boy down.

"Alright! Alright! I'll tell you where she is!" Merlin exclaimed, holding his hands out in front of him. "She's…um… hiding outside. I'll take you to her."

The trolls looked at each other and nodded in agreement, Sophia and Cedric each taking one of his arms and pulling him out of the apartment.

"Where is she?" Valiant demanded, pressing his axe into Merlin's back.

Merlin pointed to the elevator, whose doors were opening and closing automatically. "She's hiding just behind those doors."

The trolls gasped as the doors opened again. "That room was not there a moment ago!" Cedric looked at Merlin. "You are a crafty warlock."

They walked to the end of the hall and shoved Merlin into the elevator, looking around for some sign of the dog. "There's no one else in here!" Sophia shouted, glowering at the young boy.

"No, no, she's here." Merlin swore, slowly stepping outside the door. "I just have to open the secret door."

He lunged towards the control panel and pressed the door close button, praying that, for once, Gwaine actually did something right. The trolls all cried out in protest as the doors began to close on them. Thinking fast, Merlin grabbed the fire extinguisher and slammed it against their hands, preventing them from stopping the doors. He reached over and ripped the wires from the wall before whistling for Princess to come to him.

"We have to go." He informed her, running for the stairs and leaving the sound of the trolls beating against the elevator doors behind them. "Gwaine should be alright. I think that they were after you."

* * *

 

Gwaine woke up an hour later feeling like he was in the middle of a bad hangover; which, given his reputation, was entirely possible. He attempted to shake away a loud pounding that was echoing in his head when he realized it wasn't in his head. There was someone knocking at his door.

"Whatever you want and whoever you are, go away." He moaned, massaging his temples. Either he didn't say it loud enough or the man at the door didn't care, because the next thing Gwaine knew, a man in a dark red shirt and long brown coat with short blond hair was standing in his apartment, flashing an award-winning smile.

"Good evening!" He greeted, giving a slight grimace to the door lying splintered on the floor. "The trolls have already been here, I see. No matter." The man took a step towards Gwaine and held out his hand. "My name is Arthur Pendragon, and I am here with a proposition; a solution to any problem you will ever have."

Gwaine eyed the man curiously. "This is private property. Get the hell out before I call the police." He threatened, but Arthur just ignored him and pulled a large black bean out of his pocket.

"I am offering you this magic bean that, once consumed, will grant you any six wishes of your choosing." He held it out to the brunette, who was staring with both wonder and confusion. "All you have to do to get these six wishes is tell me the whereabouts of your brother, Merlin."

Gwaine was pulled back to his senses at the mention of his brother. What did this 'Arthur' want with Merlin? He opened his mouth to ask, but the man was now standing by the cabinet on the other side of the room, examining something that was sitting there. It was a picture of Merlin they'd taken on their trip to Niagara the year before, and Arthur was staring at it in amazement.

"This is him?"

Gwaine nodded, still not quite sure what was going on.

"This exquisite raven can't be him. What a succulent lamb." He threw his head back and let out a howl, while Gwaine stood by, uncomfortable about how this strange man was talking about his little brother.

"Tasty or what?" Arthur growled, turning his attention back to the brunette, an animalistic gleam in his eye. "Where is he now?"

"He's not back from work yet." Gwaine answered, crossing his arms. Arthur inhaled deeply and grinned.

"He's been here recently. I can smell him." He threw the magic bean to Gwaine, who reached out and caught it without thinking. "What do you say? Six  _glorious_  wishes."

Gwaine stared at the bean for several minutes, thinking about what this man was offering. He frowned as he asked a question that had been burning in him. "What do you want with Merlin?"

"Nothing bad. He found my dog and I just want her back." The blond flashed a charismatic smile.

"Your dog?"

Arthur nodded. "There's even a reward involved, which I intend on delivering  _personally._ "

Gwaine could've sworn that, for a split second, Arthur's eyes had changed from blue to a wolf-like gold, but he passed it off as a trick of the light. "If he isn't at work, he's probably at our Uncle Gaius'. Merlin always goes over there when he has a lot on his mind." He wrote down the address for Arthur, who gave him a low bow before turning to leave.

"Wait! How long before it takes effect?" he called after him and the blond chuckled.

"Don't worry. The first three hours are always the worst." He yelled over his shoulder as he exited. Gwaine stared at the bean for a few seconds before swallowing it.

* * *

 

Nimueh stood on the outskirts of the prison, tapping her foot impatiently. "Where are they?" she sneered as she turned to Cenred, who stood leaning against Princess Morgana's carriage. "I never should have trusted trolls to do anything!"

"Careful what you say." Cenred warned, stepping towards the queen. "Without me, you'd still be locked away in that godforsaken cell."

Nimueh's sneer melted into a warm smile. "Of course, your majesty and for that I am grateful, but I cannot linger here. No one can see the Crown Princess like this." The two looked over at Dog Morgana, who was rolling around in the grass with her tongue hanging out of her mouth, barking at a butterfly fluttering overhead. The troll king let out a snort of amusement as the queen rolled her eyes.

"Have your children bring the dog to me when they return." She ordered, sauntering over to the carriage.

"I am not your lackey!" Cenred boomed, grabbing the woman's shoulder and pulling her to face him. It took every bit of self control Nimueh possessed not to end the troll's life right there, but she knew that, if she played her cards right, he would be a valuable asset. She dipped her head respectfully at the king.

"Of course, your majesty. I promise that, when I have Morgana's throne, you will be granted half of the 4th kingdom as a reward."

Cenred removed his hand and gaped at the queen. "Half of the 4th kingdom? That's huge."

"You will have it, I promise. But for now I must go, I have stayed too long already." Nimueh turned away from the troll king and approached the Dog Princess, who was now crawling around the carriage on all fours.

"Get in the carriage!" she ordered, clapping the girl's ear. The fake princess pouted her lips and crawled into the carriage, the queen climbing in behind her.

"Where will you go? There is nowhere you can hide." The troll king called. "When they've discovered that you escaped, there will be roadblocks on every road. They'll search every home, every carriage."

Nimueh smirked as she pulled her blue hood over her head. "Not every carriage." And with that, she was gone. The troll king let out an exasperated snort as he took out his magic shoes and slipped them on, letting their power seduce him once again.

* * *

 

Merlin pushed open the door to his uncle's apartment. "Hello? Gaius, it's me!"

"Merlin?" he heard someone yell from inside the kitchen. "I'm in here!"

The raven-haired boy chuckled as he moved aside to let Princess in before closing the door behind them. They walked through the hall and into a small kitchen, where Gaius was leaned over the stove making god knows what. The older man glanced over his shoulder and smiled. "For a moment there, you reminded me of your father." He chuckled to himself and shook his head. "I know you hate hearing that, but you take after him quite a lot except-"

"-except for my eyes. They're like her's." Merlin finished, a sad smile growing on his face. He had heard it many times from Gaius, who was his mother's older brother and was his father's best friend before he passed.

"Yes well, I miss them both very much." Gaius acknowledged, turning his attention back to the stove. "Whenever that door opens, I always expect to see her standing there, explaining how she'd left to go fulfill one of her far-fetched dreams."

Merlin hung his head and sat down in one of the chairs at the table. "Well, I don't think she's coming back. I mean, fourteen years is a long time, isn't it?" he muttered, twiddling his thumbs. Gaius turned off the stovetop and sat down across from his nephew.

"That's why I want you and your brother to make something of yourselves. She had so much potential, but she threw it all away on far-flung dreams. You and Gwaine deserve better in your lives, deserve to settle down with a nice girl- or boy in your case," he added quickly, and Merlin let out a small laugh. "And be able to care for yourselves. When your father died, Hunith had no source of income to support the three of you, and she had no schooling to get a well-paying job. Look at yourself, Merlin. You're a waiter. Gwaine's a janitor. You need to get your heads out of the clouds make something of yourselves."

Merlin just nodded, knowing it would be futile to argue with his uncle. A loud bark jarred them from their thoughts as Princess jumped onto the chair next to Merlin. Gaius smiled as he reached over and scratched the dog's ear.

"And who is this?"

"This is Princess, a dog that I hit with my bike today that won't stop following me around." Merlin answered, rubbing her head affectionately.

"Hello, Princess."

They sat in silence for a few minutes and Merlin cleared his throat. "Hey, do you mind if I stay the night tonight?" he asked, earning a raised eyebrow from Gaius.

"Of course. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, everything's fine." Merlin lied, not daring to look his uncle in the eye. Gaius knew that his nephew was lying, but didn't press the matter as he stood up and shuffled off to bed.

 


	3. The Big Bad Wolf and the Six Bad Wishes

 

Gaius was woken the next morning by someone knocking on his front door. He opened the door and was surprised to see a young man with blond hair smiling at him.

"Hello, you must be Merlin's Uncle Gaius."

Gaius raised his eyebrow suspiciously. "Yes, and who might you be?"

"How rude of me." The blond said with an amused chuckle, holding his hand out. "I'm his boyfriend, Arthur."

"Merlin didn't mention you." Gaius responded, still eyeing him with distrust.  _Then again_ , he thought  _Merlin did seem to have something on his mind the night before that he was nervous to talk about._

A small grin grew on Arthur's face. "Isn't that just like him though? Most people would be bragging about dating the son of one of the most successful businessmen in New York or being hired as an apprentice in the company, but not Merlin. Just too modest, I guess."

Gaius stared at him for a moment, looking for some sign that the blond was lying before moving aside and motioning for him to come in. He didn't notice when Arthur reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of troll dust, which the half-wolf quickly threw into the old man's face, rendering him unconscious.

"Well that was easy." He muttered, dragging Gaius by his feet towards the kitchen.

* * *

 

Merlin sat up and stretched as the morning sunlight peeking through the curtains of his bedroom, and sighed when he remembered why he was at Gaius' and why there was a dog on his bed. Princess, who'd fallen asleep lying across his lap, jumped up and yawned before crawling off the bed and staring back up at him.

"You want some breakfast?" he asked, swinging his legs off the bed and throwing on his red housecoat. The dog gave a small huff in response and Merlin walked out into the hall, stopping when he realized it was too quiet. Most mornings, the kitchen was filled with the sound of pots and pans clanging and the smoke detector would go off at least once from Gaius' so called 'breakfast'.

"Gaius?" He called, slowly creeping towards the kitchen and reaching over to open the door. "Gaius?"

"In here!" he heard a voice call from the room across the hall. He turned away from the kitchen and walked over to his uncle's room, opening the door quietly.

"Gaius? Are you alright?" he asked, seeing a figure wrapped in blankets on the bed. A small moan came from under the covers. The boy walked over to the older man's bedside and reached for the blanket. "Are you feeling sick or something?"

"SURPRISE!" A hand shot out from under the blanket and grabbed Merlin's wrist and a strange blond man jumped up, grinning menacingly as he flipped the boy onto the bed."Huff-puff, you are stunning!" the man exclaimed, leering over him. "Your picture really doesn't do you justice. Wow!"

Arthur eyed the boy lustfully, really looking at him for the first time; his frail frame, his striking blue eyes, his beautifully defined cheekbones, the way his ebony hair contrasted his gorgeously pale skin. It made him want to howl!

Then, he noticed Merlin staring at the cleaver in his hand, which the half-wolf had grabbed when he ran from the kitchen to hide.

"Oops." He dropped it behind him and put on an innocent grin. "How did that get there?"

Seeing his chance, Merlin rolled backwards off the bed and ran to the door, only to be cut off when the blond jumped in front of him.

"By the way, where's the  _dog?_ " he growled. "Sleeping in, if I know royalty."

Merlin lunged for the door leading to the next room, but was blocked by the blond's arm as the man leaned towards his neck, smelling his skin and rolling his eyes with pleasure. "You smell fantastic!"

A predatory smile grew on Arthur's face as Merlin began backing away and the wolf stepped with him, eyes glinting dangerously. "I've had little teasers of your scent before, but they are nothing compared to you in the flesh. Your aroma…" he smelled the air around Merlin again and howled. "It's absolutely intoxicating. You smell like Sunday lunch." He took another step towards him and Merlin scurried back.

"Stay away from me." He warned, looking around desperately for a way out.

"Beautiful skin…" Arthur continued with a dreamy look on his face. "…beautiful eyes… No doubt about it, I am in love!"

Merlin grabbed the glass vase from the mantle and broke it over Arthur's head, taking the half-wolf by surprise and giving the boy a few seconds to run out of the room.

* * *

 

Merlin rushed to the front door, but stopped when he saw that it was secured shut by three locks. He heard the blond coming out of the bedroom and he hurriedly searched the front hall for a weapon of some kind.

"Let me put your mind at rest." Arthur shouted from the hall. "Now that I've seen you, eating you is out of the question. Not even on the menu!"

Merlin snatched a broom from the hall closet and held it defensively as the man approached him, combing his hair back with his fingers. "This is going to sound out of the blue but how about a date?" he asked, raising an eyebrow flirtatiously. Merlin swung the broom like a sword and the blond ducked out of the way, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Alright, we started badly. I take all the blame for that."

Merlin swung the broom again, this time hitting him in the stomach. The blond doubled over and Merlin noticed that the hall window was open. He struck the man again, this time knocking him backwards out the window, and down into the alleyway.

Merlin slammed the window shut and locked it before running through the halls in search of his uncle. He finally found him in the kitchen, unconscious, tied up and surrounded by vegetables. The boy cut his elderly uncle free and dragged him back to bed, hoping that he could convince him that it was all a dream.

* * *

 

Across town, Gwaine was dealing with problems of his own. After three hours of being sick for that blasted bean, Agravaine showed up at his door to fire him for not fixing the elevator, even though Gwaine was positive that he had. Remembering the strange man with the bean's words, and realizing that he had nothing to lose, he decided to try making a wish he'd wanted to make for a long time.

**"Agravaine, I wish that you and your entire family would kiss my ass and be my slaves forever."**

Green smoke had floated from his mouth at these words, and suddenly the cranky old landlord was kneeling at Gwaine's feet, calling him master. So went his first wish.

Amazed that the bean had actually worked, he decided to wish for something even better.

**"I wish for a never-ending supply of beer."**

He walked into the kitchen to get a drink and smiled when he realized that every time the refrigerator door closed, it automatically refilled with beers. So went his second wish.

His third wish was for the apartment to clean itself, and the green smoke cause the vacuum cleaner to come to life and clean. So went his third.

Gwaine grinned to himself when he thought of his fourth wish; a wish that could benefit both him and Merlin.

**"I wish I had a million dollars."**

The doorbell rang, and lo and behold, there sat a bag filled with a million dollars, cash.

What Gwaine soon figured out was that the bean was tricky. Every wish had to be properly worded, and each wish came with a price. The entire De Bois family began crowding into his apartment, calling him 'master', the door to the fridge was about to blow off from too many beers being forced inside, the vacuum cleaner had began eating the curtains. He let out an exasperated growl as another one of Agravaine's relatives approached him, telling him that they thought they heard someone trapped in the elevator. "Then go and fix it!" he yelled, trying to pull the curtains out of the vacuum.

Suddenly, the front door was kicked in and a group of police officers came rushing in, guns raised. One of them approached Gwaine and grabbed the bag with the million dollars, smirking when he opened it. "Well, well, well. The money from the bank robbery. You're under arrest." he announced, locking a pair of handcuffs on Gwaine's wrists and leading him out to the police car in front of the building.

* * *

 

When Arthur woke up, he was laying in a pile of trash in the alley behind Merlin's uncle's apartment. He stood slowly and gazed longingly at the window he fell from, thinking about the raven beauty that pushed him out of it.

"Can I help you?" A voice pulled him from his thoughts and he looked over to see a young, dark-skinned woman with a warm smile watching him from the end of the alley.

"I sincerely hope so." Arthur replied, looking back up at the window. "I'm so confused."

The woman nodded in understanding. "You must be my ten o'clock. I'm Doctor Guinevere Smith, but you can call me Gwen." She motioned for him to follow as she entered a door in the side of the building and led him into a small office, asking him to sit down as she pulled out a notepad.

"Now, I'm going to say a word- Arthur, wasn't it?" The blond nodded. "Arthur, I want you to tell me the first word that comes to mind."

Arthur smiled. "Of course, Guinevere."

"Home." Gwen began.

"Cooking."

"Coward."

"Chicken!"

Gwen pursed her lips and made a note before continuing. "Wedding."

"Cake."

"Dead."

" _Meat._ "

"…Sexual."

"Appetite."

Gwen nodded and gave him a curious look. "Love."

"Anything fluffy!" Arthur grimaced. "Sorry, that was more than one word; can we try again?"

After continuing like this for an hour, Gwen frowned. "Arthur, you still seem to be holding back. What is really bothering you?"

The blond took a deep breath and moved closer to the therapist. "Alright, the thing is that I met this terrific guy who I really like, but the problem is…"

He scrunched his face. "I don't know if I want to love him or eat him."

The dark-skinned woman stared open-mouthed at the half wolf as he continued. "I mean, I blame my father. He always put so much pressure on me, always forcing me to be like him and eat like him."

"You shouldn't punish yourself because subconsciously you don't think you lived up to your father's expectations." Gwen explained gently, making Arthur smile.

"You're right, Guinevere. I want to change! I want to be better!"

The therapist wrote something down on a piece of paper and handing it to him. "Here you go. This is a list of books I'd like for you to read. I want to see you again next week, and we can dive into this again." She stood up and led him towards the door.

"I won't be here next week!" He tried to tell her, but she quickly shut the door and let out a sigh of relief.

* * *

 

"Alright," Merlin stopped in the middle of the path and turned to Princess, who looked back with sad eyes. "This is where I found you, and this is where we are going our separate ways."

The dog barked in protest, but Merlin shook his head. "No, I am no part in any of this. Whatever these people want with you, they can have you. I can't get involved." He turned to walk away, but the lab continued to follow him.

"Look, I can't take you back to where you came from, because I don't KNOW where you came from!" he yelled, groaning when the dog tried to bark out a reply. He turned to leave again when he spotted a familiar figure running through the park, hands cuffed behind his back with a group of cops chasing him.

"Gwaine?" he called, drawing his brother's attention. The brunette ran over to where his brother was standing and the two (plus Princess) ducked into some nearby bushes, out of sight.

"Gwaine, why are there police chasing you?" Merlin whispered loudly, glaring at him.

"They think I pulled a bank job, but it was a magic bean that some man gave me, which I also used to escape the police car." He expected his brother to laugh and call him crazy, but instead he shrugged in acceptance. He looked over to the black dog sitting between them and gasped. "Is this the dog that blond jerk wanted? Why don't you just give it to him?"

Merlin sighed. "I don't think she is a dog, Gwaine. I just can't understand what she's trying to say."

"Wait, I've got it." Gwaine closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

**"I wish that I could understand everything this dog is saying."**

And so went his final wish.

Merlin stared as green smoke came from his brother'smouth and hit the dog's face.

_"You're both in terrible danger."_ A female voice echoed in Gwaine's mind, making him smile.

"Did you hear that, Merls? It worked!" he cheered but Merlin shook his head.

"I don't hear anything. I don't think you worded the wish right."

_"Never mind that now."_ The female voice echoed again and the dog trotted out of their hiding place.  _"This way. We need to find the mirror so that I can get back home."_ Gwaine stood up to follow her, repeating what she said to Merlin.

_"It's a mirror, but it may not look like a mirror from this side."_ The dog explained, leading them deeper into the trees.  _"Look for part of the forest that looks distorted or something."_

Gwaine relayed the message and they scanned the forest for something out of the ordinary. Merlin's eyes widened when he spotted a section of the forest that was pulsing with blue light. "There!"

_"Follow me!"_  the black lab ordered, jumping into the light.

"She wants us to follow her." Gwaine told Merlin, who rolled his eyes.

"We are not going in there Gwai-" He was cut off by the sound of shouting, and the brothers turned to see not only the police gaining on them, but Valiant, Sophia and Cedric as well. "How'd they get out of the elevator?" Merlin demanded and Gwaine winced guiltily.

"That's who was trapped in the elevator?"

Seeing no other way, the brothers jumped after the dog.

 


	4. A Grimm Arrival

 

The two brothers looked around wide-eyed at their new surroundings. "Where the hell are we?" Gwaine finally asked, looking to the dog in front of them for answers.

_"There's no time to explain."_ She answered haughty, running into a nearby corridor.  _"Follow me."_

They followed the dog (girl?) into a larger room full of long tables, which Merlin assumed was some kind of canteen. All around the floor were unconscious men lying covered in pink dust that Merlin remembered as 'troll dust'. The dog barked for them to follow her down another corridor, but Merlin just crossed his arms and frowned.

"I'm not going anywhere until I know where we are and what's going on." He stated stubbornly. The lab rolled her eyes and walked over to an elegant map hanging on the back wall.

_"We are in the Snow White Memorial Prison."_  She explained nodding her head towards a point on the map that read 'You are imprisoned here',  _"Which houses the most dangerous criminals in the Nine Kingdoms of Camelot."_

"She says we are in some place called Snow White Memorial Prison." Gwaine repeated, realizing that Merlin wouldn't be able to hear her.

Merlin stared wide-eyed at the map, not believing what he was reading or hearing. "The Troll Kingdom… Red Riding Hood Forest…" He ran his fingers through his hair and furrowed his brow. "So, fairy tales are real? Like Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella?"

_"Yes. I am Princess Morgana White, last living descendent of the great queen Snow White. She, along with the other great women you've mentioned, lived over two hundred years ago during what they call 'The Golden Age'."_ The princess hung her head.  _"Things have gone downhill since then. Happily Ever After didn't last as long as we'd hoped."_  Gwaine relayed the speech back to Merlin, whose eyes were still glued to the map.

_"Who are you, exactly?"_ Morgana asked, looking over at the brunette.

"I'm Gwaine, and I guess you know my kid brother here, Merlin."

_"Are you a knight of some kind?"_

Gwaine chuckled. "Sweetheart, I'm about as far from a knight as you can get."

_"Well, that's helpful."_  She responded sarcastically.

As Morgana and Gwaine bantered, Merlin examined the map closer, memorizing the forests and the kingdoms with a large grin. He looked away when he heard voices and loud thuds coming from the corridor they'd entered from.

"Someone's coming!  _Hide!_ " he hissed, ducking behind one of the tables. Morgana and Gwaine followed his lead, and half a minute later, Sophia, Valiant and Cedric were tramping into the room, loudly discussing what they would do with their own kingdom.

"We'll have hundreds of servants to polish all of our shoes." Valiant suggested, getting grunts of agreement from the others.

"And footwear parties, where you have to change shoes six times an hour!" Cedric proposed with a huge grin.

"And anyone with dirty shoes will have their faces sewn up!" Sophia chuckled, and the three trolls were soon in a chorus of laughs as they left the chamber.

Merlin, Gwaine and Morgana each let out a sigh of relief as they moved out from their hiding places and the princess trotted over to another hall and barked for them to follow.

"Where are we going?" Gwaine called after her.

_"The cell where they held my stepmother, the most evil woman who ever lived. She's the one who turned me into a dog."_

Merlin and Gwaine followed close behind her as she lead them through the labyrinth of corridors into the maximum security wing, finally stopping when they reached the cell at the end of the hall.

"What exactly did this woman do?" Merlin asked, noticing that her cell was the only one in the wing.

_"She poisoned my mother and father, and then tried to kill me as well."_ Morgana barked and Merlin looked to Gwaine for a translation.

"Pretty much, she murdered the princess' parents and then tried to kill her."

Merlin grimaced and entered the cell, stopping at the sudden nausea he felt after stepping inside. He leaned against one of the walls as the room began to spin and Gwaine placed a concerned hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Merls, are you alright?"

The raven boy nodded. "Yeah, I think that I might need to step out for a minute though."

"Okay, just don't wander off, alright?"

Merlin exited the cell, instantly feeling better once he was back in the corridor. Morgana, who had been sniffing around the room for something, stopped suddenly.

_"That's strange."_  She muttered, drawing Gwaine's attention.

"What?"

_"The trolls have been here recently. I can smell them."_

"Trolls?"

A loud thump came from outside the cell and Gwaine turned to see Merlin lying on the ground, covered in troll dust.

"Merlin!" he shouted, running to his brother's side, but the cell door was slammed in his face. He scowled at the trolls' vicious laughter on the other side and rammed the door, desperately trying to knock it down as he shouted for his younger brother, who was being carried away god knows where.

* * *

 

Arthur stepped through the mirror with a set of books stacked precariously in his hands. He shoved them into an old satchel he'd 'borrowed' from a man sitting on a bench in the other world and searched the mirror's border for the shut off mechanism. Spotting a catch on the left side, he pushed the piece back in place and grinned as the view of the other world was replaced by his reflection . He made a mental note of the secret catch and turned his attention back to his surroundings when a strong, familiar smell hit him in the face.  _Merlin…_

He was in Arthur's world now. The half-wolf beamed at the very thought, following the boy's scent into the prison canteen. He frowned when he realized that the scent had been split, an older scent going towards the queen's cell, accompanied by two others, who he recognized as the princess and his brother, and a much fresher scent leading away from the cell, this time with the smell of troll.

Arthur followed the fresher scent out of the prison, clenching his fists angrily when he spotted the trolls trudging towards the river, his beautiful raven thrown carelessly over the burly one's shoulder. They were talking loudly amongst themselves as they threw Merlin callously into one of the boats and climbed in. He overheard bits of their conversation, like "What about the dog?" and "We've captured the all-powerful warlock of Albion" and "the queen can suck an elf!"

The dog wasn't with them, but she could drop dead for all he cared. All he could think about was that his raven was in danger, and he had to rescue him. The blond ran for one of the smaller boats and pushed off, passing a sign that read 'You are now leaving the 4th Kingdom of Camelot.'

* * *

 

When Merlin finally woke up, it didn't take him long to realize he was in trouble. His arms were strapped down to a chair, and he was surrounded by the three trolls he'd trapped in the elevator back in New York. He quickly noticed that they'd removed his shirt and he cringed when he saw the words 'Troll Toy' now tattooed across his chest. All in all, he'd been in better situations. The female troll, Sophia if he remembered correctly, walked over and pulled his head back by his hair.

"You are now a captive of the merciless Trolls." She grinned, releasing his head and striding back over to join her brothers, who were laughing at Merlin's terrified expression.

"Strip him." The one called Valiant ordered and Merlin found himself being leaned back in the chair while Sophia and the smaller one (Cedric?) removed his converses and socks. When his feet were bare, Valiant grabbed his toes and began looking over them.

"Pretty feet." He observed, drawing the attention of the other two to them.

Cedric began moving his toes back and forth. "They're so small and dainty."

"Now," Valiant announced as he pressed his palm against the back of Merlin's toes and slowly bent them backwards. "Who runs your kingdom?"

Merlin stared up at him questioningly. "My kingdom?"

"Yes, who is in charge?!" Valiant pushed his toes back even farther, and Merlin let out a yelp of pain.

"The President!" he yelled, and some of the pressure on his toes was released.

"Morgana was trying to rally an army from your kingdom, wasn't she?" Sophia demanded, leaning in close to Merlin's face.

He shook his head in response and Valiant jerked his toes back even harder, making him cry out. Cedric grabbed a jug from one of the nearby tables, taking a long drink as he circled around to where Merlin's head was and spitting it into his face. Merlin almost missed getting his toes bent back.

"This could be a long torture session." Cedric noted, gaining a nod from his brother and sister.

"I'll tell you anything you want to know." Merlin cried frantically. Valiant tightened his grip on the raven's feet and leaned over the chair.

"Torture first, and then you talk." He smiled wickedly. "It's more fun that way."

"Rush a torture, ruin a torture." Sophia agreed.

Suddenly, the chamber door was thrown open and footsteps echoed through the room. "Uh-oh, Dad's back." Cedric whispered, looking towards the doorway. Merlin noticed all of three trolls sharing a scared look and glanced over to see who had entered, frowning in confusion when he realized there was no one there.

Merlin heard a click to his right and watched as one of the chamber walls slid back to reveal a large collection of high heels, boots, clogs, every kind of shoe imaginable. In the center of the shrine was a glass table, apparently reserved for a special pair of shoes.

"Dad, why don't you take off the shoes?" Valiant asked the empty space in front of the shrine. "You're inside your own palace now."

"I can rule the world in these shoes." A disembodied voice replied, making Merlin jump slightly. "With them, I am all powerful."

Sophia took a nervous step forward. "Come on, Dad. Just take off the shoes."

Merlin watched in disbelief as another troll appeared out of thin air, holding a beautiful pair of golden shoes in his hands. "I am Cenred, the troll king! I can handle them. I can take them off whenever I want to." The man assured the others, placing the shoes on the small table and turning his attention to the raven-haired boy strapped down to the chair. "Who is this? You were supposed to bring back the dog."

"Forget the dog, Dad!" Valiant exclaimed excitedly, pushing Merlin back up. "We discovered a new kingdom!"

"Albion, the mythical 10th kingdom!" Cedric added, a huge smile on his face.

Their father snorted in disbelief. "Don't talk rubbish. There's no such thing as Albion."

"There is!" Sophia insisted, grabbing a handful of Merlin's hair again and yanking his head up. "This warlock trapped us in a matchbox!"

Merlin raised a confused eyebrow. Matchbox? Did they mean the elevator? He looked up to see the Troll King staring intensely at him, as if trying to fathom him out.

"Are you saying this" he looked Merlin up and down. "- _weakling_ managed to capture you?"

"He's an all-powerful warlock."

Cenred rolled his eyes in annoyance."How many of them did you kill before being captured?"

"Uh, none." Valiant answered quietly and Sophia quickly interjected.

"None  _survived._ "

Cenred clenched his jaw as he looked over his children with shame. "Alright, who wants to be whipped first?"

The trolls looked at each other worriedly and Sophia reached for her bag. "Dad, it's true. We can prove it!" She pulled out a long black object that Merlin recognized as a boombox and beat the top until 'Saturday Night Fever' began blaring out of the speakers. The troll king jumped back and stared at the device with amazement while his children nodded their heads to the beat of the music.

"They are called the Brothers Gibb." Valiant explained. "They speak of a deadly fever that only occurs on a Saturday."

Cenred frowned at the machine and growled. "There is more to this than the queen is telling me."

Merlin stiffened at the mention of the queen.  _That's who they were working for? No wonder they wanted Morgana so bad._

The troll king approached his prisoner and leaned over him menacingly, brushing a piece of hair out of the boy's face. Merlin squirmed at the contact.

"You will dance for me." Cenred whispered, a wicked gleam in his eye. "And when you have finished, you will tell me how to invade your kingdom." Merlin let out a breath of relief as the troll turned away from him and crossed back over to the wall of shoes.

"Uh, I'm- I'm not really much of a dancer." He stammered, watching as Cenred grab a pair of iron shoes from one of the shelves.

The troll king held them up so Merlin could get a good look at them. "You'll dance when you wear these." He placed the shoes on a rack in the fireplace and turned to leave the room, glancing back at his children when he reached the doors. "Wake me when the shoes are red." He ordered, slamming the doors behind him.

All of the blood rushed from Merlin's face as the iron shoes began heating up over the fire.

* * *

 

Servants rushed out to the royal carriage as it pulled in front of the Queen's ruined castle. Eira, the head of the house and most trusted servant, stepped forward as Nimueh and Dog Morgana climbed out of the carriage and approaching the castle.

"Welcome back, your majesty. We've missed having you here." She greeted, giving a low curtsey as the queen passed. Nimueh stopped in the entryway and smiled blissfully.

"It's good to be home." She whispered, ambling into the immense foyer. The banisters may have fallen, the wood rotted, and the dust layered, but the castle still felt as magical as the day the queen had first stepped inside, and that gave her comfort.

Dog Morgana, on the other hand, looked around at the old cobweb-covered castle with dread aS a cold chill sent a shiver down her spine. She watched her mistress walk towards a large portrait hanging at the top of a grand staircase and look up at it with a sad expression. The portrait was of a beautiful dark-haired woman with piercing green eyes, dressed in long, royal robes. In her hand, she held an apple.

Dog Morgana rushed over to the queen's side and nudged her with her nose. "Who is that?" Nimueh didn't answer for a few seconds.

"The stepmother who poisoned Snow White with the apple all of those years ago." She replied quietly, eyes not leaving the painting. "She was once the most powerful woman in all of the Nine Kingdoms of Camelot and this was but one of her five castles."

"What happened to her?"

The queen looked down in sorrow. "When she was finally caught, they heated a pair of iron slippers over red hot coals and made her dance at Snow White's wedding."Dog Morgana winced and laid her head on Nimueh's shoulder, who gently stroked her hair.

"She crawled out into the snow, dragging her raw, blistered, useless feet into a swamp nearby. This crippled woman, who was once the fairest of them all. But she kept her magic mirrors and searched for a successor. And that, of course was  _me_."

"I will finish her work and destroy the House of White forever," She raised her eyes back to the portrait and took a step up the stairs, shaking with emotion as she continued through clenched teeth. "And pity the  _fool_  who tries to stand in my way!"

 


	5. Locked Up

 

Gwaine grunted as he was thrown gracelessly into a filthy prison cell. After waking up from the troll dust, the guards had done a thorough search the entire prison, beginning in the maximum security wing. It didn't take long to realize that Gwaine wasn't the queen, and he and Morgana were both dragged into the governor's office.

Morgana felt a twinge of fear as she stared up at the man standing behind the large desk in the center of the room. The governor was well known across the 4th kingdom as a cruel man who took pleasure in bringing misery to the prisoners. She'd met him before on several occasions, but always as a princess with a royal guard. Now, watching him look over Gwaine in such a brutal way, she understood why people were scared to be sent to Snow White Memorial Prison.

"I have been governor of this prison for twelve years." He uttered, looking the still handcuffed Gwaine in the eye. "And not once has there ever been a breakout. Now," he grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him close with a murderous look. "Where is the queen?"

_"Gwaine, whatever you do, don't tell him I'm a dog!"_ Morgana called from across the room.

He rolled his eyes. "Why not?"

"Answer the question!" the governor demanded, but Gwaine's attention was now on the cursed princess.

_"Because Nimueh has something wicked planned, and I can't let my people know how vulnerable I am."_

He scoffed at the princess' lack of concern at his current predicament.  _I wish I was back home_ he thought to himself. An idea suddenly struck him and he squeezed his eyes closed.

**"I wish that me and Merlin were back home and that none of this ever happened."**

Gwaine opened his eyes and frowned. He was still sitting in the prison. He doubled over as something began to force its way up his throat and spit the magical bean out onto the floor.

_"Oh, you imbecile. You didn't_ actually _swallow a dragon-dung bean, did you?"_ Morgana scolded, placing a paw over her nose.

The governor stared down at the bean and grinned. "Well, it seems that you aren't. Now, where. Is. The. Queen?"

"I don't know!"

"Then why were you found locked in her cell?"

"Look, mate. I was locked in there by some trolls who kidnapped my kid brother after we were led here from another dimension by that dog," He pointed at Morgana and nervously added "who is actually Princess Morgana."

The room went quiet and Gwaine looked over to see Morgana giving him a poisonous look.  _"I told you not to tell them that."_

The governor clenched his teeth. "That is Queen Nimueh's dog," he growled, "which she has been allowed to keep in her cell for the past three years. Do NOT insult my intelligence."

"I swear to you, it's her. I'll prove it." He turned to the princess. "Bark once if you're Morgana." The room was uncomfortably quiet as Morgana stared at the two men with her head down on her paws.

_"I have no intention of barking, Gwaine."_

"You spoiled little-" he muttered, turning back to the governor, who was now talking with one of the guards.

"We'll get the truth out of him soon enough. Remove his handcuffs, issue him a prison uniform and place him in a cell with…" he looked down his list and a wicked grin spread on his face. "Lancelot and Percival."

As he was carried out, he heard the governor and his lieutenant whispering something about the queen's dog and saw Morgana visibly tense up.

_"Gwaine, did you hear that? They're going to poison my food; they're trying to kill me! You have to get me out of here, quickly!"_

Now, he was locked away in a prison cell about as far away from Merlin and getting home as he possibly could be, with cellmates who could be planning to kill him in his sleep for all he knew. He walked over to an empty bunk and lay down on it quietly, trying not to disturb the two men lying in the other beds.

"Hey," he heard someone whisper from the bunk below. "What are you in for?"

Gwaine scoffed. "Wrong place, wrong time."

"Same here." A man with light brown hair and a genuine smile stood up and held his hand out, which Gwaine took. "I'm Lancelot and the half-giant in the other bed is Percival."

"What's he in for?"

Lancelot lowered his voice. "He killed a man."

"Liar." Another voice called as a hand came down from the bunk above and knocked Lancelot in the head, who laughed lightheartedly.

A large man with a shaved head leaned over the edge of the bunk to look at Gwaine. "I'm in here for carving." He explained, holding up a spoon and a soap bar he'd been whittling into as proof.

Gwaine raised an eyebrow. "Carving?"

Percival nodded and disappeared onto his bunk again. Gwaine gave a questioning look to Lancelot who just mouthed 'Don't ask' before returning to his own bed, leaving the brunette to wonder what kind of strange world this was.

* * *

 

Back in the governor's office, Morgana sat tied to the desk, stomach grumbling as a plate of food was placed in front of her. Gagging at the smell of poison, she pushed the plate away grumpily. The guard who brought it in turned to the governor and addressed him seriously.

"Sir, when we searched the prison, we found that one of the doors to the cellar was opened. We believe it's possible that the queen escaped that way." Morgana's ears perked up at the mention of the cellar.

"The cellar?" The governor frowned. "What's down there?"

"Some junk that's been around since before this was a prison."

The governor turned away in thought and Morgana held her breath expectedly. The mirror was done there and if anything happened to it, Merlin and Gwaine would be cut off from their dimension forever. After a few minutes of thinking, the governor turned back and grinned.

"Take tomorrow's work detail and have them clean out the entire room top to bottom." The guard nodded in response and the governor left the room with the guard right behind him. Morgana took her chance and jumped into the desk chair, reading the names of the work detail.

_"I need to get Gwaine's name on here."_ She whispered, grabbing a pencil in her mouth and messily sketching out G-W-A-I-N-E on the paper, followed by A-M-B-R-O-S-I-A-S.

* * *

 

Merlin shook with terror as the red hot iron shoes were lifted off of the fire with tongs by Valiant who, along with Cedric and Sophia, was practically dancing with glee at the thought of making him dance. The troll king hadn't come back yet -Merlin suspected he was probably still taking his nap- but it didn't seem like his children were going to wait until he did. He held his breath as the three trolls began moving towards him with wicked grins, Sophia and Cedric both quietly chanting "Frying tonight, frying tonight."

"Keep away from me!" Merlin tried to pull his arms out of his restraints, but it was no use. He squeezed his eyes shut and flinched away as they brought the shoes so close he could practically feel his feet burning already…

But a loud thud came from the window, and when Merlin opened his eyes, he saw the trolls had discarded the shoes and were now standing around a large gift box with a red bow that had apparently been thrown in through the window. He sighed with relief.

The trolls circled the mysterious box like it would explode any second. "What do you think it is?" Cedric finally asked, looking between his brother and sister.

Sophia shrugged. "It's a present."

Valiant bent down and picked a tag off of the ribbon, reading it aloud. "To the strongest, bravest troll."

"It's for me!" they each said at the same time and Merlin bit back a grin, knowing where this was going.

Valiant pushed Cedric. "You, the strongest? It has to be for me."

"I think it's for me!" Sophia argued, stepping between them with a poker in her hand.

"Wait!" Cedric held his hands out and eyed the box suspiciously. "It could be a trap."

Valiant nodded in agreement. "You're right!"

The three leaned in close to the box and examined the box. Sophia smiled. "You know what it smells like?"

The three took a deep breath and sighed. "Shoes!" They all lunged for the box again, but this time, Sophia raised her poker and thumped Valiant with it, knocking him unconscious. She turned to Cedric, who was now holding up a poker of his own in defense. Both circled each other cautiously, waiting for the other to make their move.

"I had to do it." Sophia spoke up, nodding to their brother.

"Of course you did, of course you did." Cedric nodded, still not lowering his poker.

"I mean, they're clearly not his."

"No, you did the right thing. It's mob rule otherwise, isn't it?"

They both began to lower their pokers with large grins on their faces. "How about we flip a coin to decide which of us gets them?" Sophia suggested. They both turned get a coin from their pocket and two well aimed punches later, Merlin was sitting in a room filled with unconscious trolls.

_One problem solved_  Merlin thought, trying to wiggle himself free. He stopped when he heard a rustling outside and turned his head just in time to see the blond man from Gaius' house swing in through the window on a rope. The man smiled charismatically as he landed gracefully in the center of the chamber.

"Hello there, my raven beauty. Your rescue is at hand!" He announced, giving a low bow.

Merlin struggled harder against the restraints and glared at the man. "Don't come any closer, I am warning you!"

The blond shook his head and knelt next to him "Huff-puff, not to worry. I'm not who I used to be. I have had _extensive_  therapy. I now realize that I've been using food as a substitute for love and I have the books to prove it!" He reached into a satchel that he had thrown over his shoulder and pulled out a small stack of books.

" _How to survive in spite of your parents_ ," he showed Merlin the book before putting it back into his bag. " _The Courage to Heal, Stop blaming yourself, please,"_ he held up two more and put them away, frowning at the next book in the stack. "And  _Help for the Bedwetting Child_ , which I must have picked up by mistake but the point is I have them all!"

He smiled expectantly at Merlin, who looked back with confusion and slight amusement. The blond stood back up and Merlin was put on high alert again as he circled behind him. "Come any closer and I'll scream my head off!" Merlin threatened.

The man chuckled, leaning closely towards his ear. "That is what is known as 'an empty threat'." The raven boy squirmed at the close proximity and Arthur sighed dramatically. "I'm beginning to get the feeling that you don't entirely trust me."

"I don't trust you at all." Merlin scoffed. "You tried to eat my uncle."

"Oh, no, wolfies only  _pretend_  to do naughty things. Besides, I wouldn't have eaten that tough old goat. I wouldn't hurt a sausage; butter would not melt in my mouth." He paused for a moment and reconsidered his words. "Well, I mean it would, of course it would melt in my mouth, but very,  _very_ slowly."

Merlin turned his head to look at the man, who was still very close to his face. He noticed an animalistic glint still in his eye, but it was much softer than before and his smile was now comforting and reassuring.

Suddenly, he felt a weight lift off his wrists and he saw that his hands had been released from the restraints. Now free, he jumped up from the chair and moved away from the blond, who was holding his hands up like Merlin was a frightened animal.

"I, Arthur Pendragon, give you my solemn wolf word that you are safe with me. You are as safe as a brick-built pig house." Merlin relaxed a little and the half-wolf gave him a warm smile. "Now, wait here while I plan our escape. We are in romantically reckless danger!"

Merlin grabbed his shirt and hoodie from the far corner of the room and pulled them on as Arthur ran to the window, turning when he suddenly felt his attention being pulled to the wall of shoes.

Arthur looked over the balcony and frowned, wondering if it was the best way to escape. "How are you at climbing?" he called behind him. "I almost fell three times on the way up." When he didn't hear a response, he turned to see the boy mesmerized by a pair of golden shoes sitting on display in the closet.

"These shoes," he whispered, reaching a hand towards them. "They made him invisible."

"Yes, I know." Arthur nodded, watching the raven warily.

"But they made him invisible!" Merlin's face lit up at the thought of being invisible. He could escape. He could escape everyone and everything. A hand grabbed his wrist and he looked up to see Arthur standing next to him.

"Don't touch them." The half-wolf said sternly. "They'll make you want to wear them all the time." He released Merlin's wrist and went back to figuring a way out.

"I'm not going to touch them. I just want to look at them." The raven boy muttered as he picked up the backpack he'd been wearing and shoved the shoes inside.

Arthur didn't notice as he looked between the door that led to the hall and the window."I think corridor." He finally decided, opening the door a crack and peeking into the hall.

"Nope, definitely balcony! Cenred's coming!" He yelled, closing the door quickly and pulling Merlin towards the window. He grabbed the rope he swung in on and threw it over the railing, making Merlin go first then climbing after him.

The moment Merlin touched the ground, he ran from the troll castle as fast as he possibly could, not waiting for Arthur and secretly hoping that he wouldn't follow. It wasn't until he stopped at a small crossroads that he saw the half-wolf was right behind him, barely winded. Rolling his eyes, he began heading down one of the paths.

"Um, excuse me?" Arthur asked, grabbing Merlin's arm and pulling him back. "Where exactly do you think you're going?"

"Where do you think, prat? Back to prison."

" _Back to prison_? That wouldn't be my first choice."

Merlin pulled his arm out of Arthur's grasp and began to walk away again. "I need to find my brother and then I need to get home."

"All right, all right," Arthur pulled Merlin back again, this time grabbing both arms and turning him so he was facing him. "But not this way, Merlin; please listen to me. You won't survive five minutes if you don't follow me, okay?"

Merlin nodded in response and Arthur let go of his arms. "Now, we have to avoid this main road, and instead go through there."

Merlin followed Arthur's gaze and widened his eyes in fear. The path he was suggesting cut through a large, dark forest of beanstalks, decorated with warning signs that read 'Stay Out' and 'Beware of Giants' and 'Trespassers will be eaten'. He took a step back.

"No. There's no way that I'm going in there." He looked over at Arthur, whose expression was very clear.

It was the only way.

 


	6. Merlin and the Beanstalks

 

The cellar doors were thrown open in a cloud of dust as the queen led a handful of servants down into the bowels of the old castle; each servant carrying a shovel in one hand and a lantern in the other.

**_I am dead, but my work is unfinished._ **

A voice echoed as they arrived at a star-marker set in the center of a circular chamber.

**_The House of Snow White survives_ **

A lantern was placed at each spoke of the star.

**_You must finish my work. In the ruin of my castle, you will find the source of my power,_ **

The queen pointed to one of the lanterns and the servants began digging, eventually uncovering a large, rectangular object wrapped in canvas.

**_These are my gifts; they give you my power,_ **

The servants moved to each lantern, unearthing four more canvas-wrapped objects of different sizes and shapes. Nimueh approached one of them and ripped the covering off, revealing a gorgeous mirror.

**_Mirrors to travel,_ **

The servants followed her lead and removed the canvas from another mirror.

**_Mirrors to spy,_ **

The rest of them were quickly unveiled, and the queen stepped before one of them.

**_Mirrors to remember…Mirrors to forget,_ **

Nimueh looked at her reflection in the mirror and smiled.

**_Mirrors to rule the world._ **

"Oh," she whispered, running her hand along the mirror's frame. "It's good to have the power back."

* * *

 

"Idiots!" Cenred hollered, chucking another pair of shoes at his children, who were cowering across the room. "Fools! I can't leave you alone for five minutes!"

After awakening from his nap, the troll king had re-entered the chambers to find all three of his children lying unconscious on the floor, the iron shoes already cooled and thrown to the side, and his magic shoes gone. Needless to say, he wasn't in a good mood.

"We're sorry, Dad." Cedric groveled, ducking his head behind Valiant to avoid a pair of boots being launched at him.

"It wasn't our fault!" Valiant exclaimed, pointing to a large box near the window. "He made that magic shoe box appear!"

Cenred opened the box and pulled out a small note which read 'Best Wishes from Arthur Pendragon'. The troll king scowled and turned to his children, who flinched away in fear.

"Get the dogs!" he ordered. "We're going after them immediately!"

* * *

 

Merlin followed Arthur through the forest, glancing up occasionally at the loud roars coming from the top of the beanstalks. Arthur noticed this and grinned. "Don't worry. The giants haven't come down from their beanstalks in hundreds of years. Not since the first mayor of Beantown climbed to the top of one and defeated the giant who lived there."

He nodded towards a marble statue that sat near a stump of what Merlin guessed used to be a beanstalk. It was of a young man holding an axe over his shoulder. Though the statue had been vandalized by trolls and covered in vines, Merlin could still make out an inscription on the base that read

' _Brave Jack, First Mayor of Beantown'_.

He stared at the words in disbelief. "Wait, Jack? As in…"

Arthur nodded. "Jack and the Beanstalk. This was once a very prosperous area," He explained, sauntering around the base of the statue. "before beanstalks began sprouting up and polluting the land. The Trolls were given it as their kingdom, which is why they hate Princess Morgana so much. She has a nice fertile kingdom and they have- Merlin?"

Arthur was now back to the front of the statue where Merlin had been standing moments before, except now he was gone.

"Merlin?" Arthur called out a little louder, before it dawned on him. "Oh Merlin, please tell me you didn't take the troll king's magic shoes!"

He ran his fingers through his hair worriedly before inhaling deeply, trying to find the boy's scent over the powerful smell of the beanstalks. It was difficult but-there it was! If he hadn't been so attuned to Merlin's scent he would have missed it; that sweet, hypnotic aroma that could only come from him. Grinning, Arthur followed the smell deeper into the forest.

* * *

 

The shoes called to him. That's the only way Merlin could describe it. They'd been tempting him, making him want to put them on since he saw them in the troll king's palace. So, when Arthur wasn't watching, he took his chance and slipped them on.

It wasn't that he wanted to get away from the half-wolf; after all, he was taking him back to the prison to save Gwaine. But he knew that when Arthur noticed he was invisible, he'd figure out that he had taken the magic shoes.

_Then, he'd take them for himself_ the boy thought, slipping away as Arthur continued on about beanstalks and trolls.

He hadn't gotten too far when he saw Arthur searching him out. Thinking quickly, he pressed his back against a nearby beanstalk and watched as the wolf howled in frustration.

"Merlin," he pleaded, looking around in panic, "I know you think that you're safe in those shoes, but you couldn't be further from the truth. Anything you get from a troll is bound to be dangerous. Oh, huff-puff. Merlin, where are you?"

He held his breath as Arthur ran past and out of sight before letting out a sigh of relief. Suddenly, a small tingle shot through his body and he looked down to find that he was visible again. Merlin bent down and removed the shoes, wondering why they stopped working when…

"Hello, again."

He turned to see Arthur leaned next to him, smiling smugly. "They're not fully recharged. You see, they can't stay invisible long without a proper break. A design flaw in the shoes; one of many, in fact."

Merlin tried to run away, but Arthur grabbed his arm pinned him against the beanstalk.

"You can't have them!" the raven boy yelled, trying to pull away.

Arthur tilted his head in confusion and loosened his grip. "Have what?"

"The shoes." Merlin spat, holding the magic shoes close to his chest. "They're mine!"

Arthur wrestled the golden slippers out of his grasp and held them out of reach. Merlin swayed drunkenly and lunged to get them back, but Arthur quickly pinned him again. "If you don't get rid of them now, you won't be able to later!"

Merlin's eyes began to refocus and he stepped away. "You're right," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "I don't want them. They make me feel… strange."

Arthur relaxed and let go of the raven, who looked back at him questioningly. "Wait, I was invisible. How did you find me?"

Merlin noticed the wolf beginning to blush as an adorable half-smile grew on his face. "I could smell you." A loud rumbling echoed from the top of the beanstalk and Arthur motioned for them to start moving.

As they got deeper into the forest, Merlin noticed that signs that read 'Condemned' were hanging from some of the limbs. When he asked Arthur about them, the wolf chuckled.

"Well, there are only about seventy beanstalks left, and not very many are inhabited." He explained, walking a few paces ahead. "The reason is that giants rarely have time to reproduce because they spend so much time drinking."

"Can I ask you another question?"

Arthur nodded. "Of course."

"Do you think I'm sexy?"

Arthur came to an abrupt halt. Surely he hadn't heard correctly. But when he turned around, he could see Merlin, stopped a few feet behind him and leaned against a nearby tree, looking back at him seductively.

"I mean, you're the kind of guy I suppose I should be afraid of." he continued, tilting his head to the left so the moonlight shined on his porcelain-white neck.

Arthur gulped and shook his head, knowing from the glassy look in the boy's eyes that it wasn't really him talking, but wishing so much that it was. "Merlin, I would love to believe what you're saying right now, but I'm afraid that it's the shoes that are talking. You'll say anything to be able to put them back on again."

Merlin blinked then frowned, his eyes back to normal. "You're right." He nodded, holding his head in his hand. "Oh my god, I'm sorry. I'm not sure what came over me."

"They bring out very strange things, these shoes." Arthur stated with a knowing smirk. "Whatever you're suppressing."

"I'm not  _suppressing_ anything." Merlin shot back with a glare.

Arthur opened his mouth to retort, but stopped when the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He sniffed the air for any new smells and gasped. "Trolls. They found us. Oh, cripes!"

Merlin turned to see distant lanterns through the trees, accompanied by loud voices and barking.

"They have dogs." Arthur realized, grabbing hold of Merlin's hand. "They'll sniff us out. We need to run!"

They ran through the beanstalks as fast as they could, but Arthur knew that it wasn't fast enough to escape a party of trolls. He stopped and pulled Merlin over to one of the beanstalks, hoping that he would get the hint to start climbing. He did, and soon the two were sitting on a branch thirty feet from the ground.

* * *

 

They waited quietly as a group of at least forty trolls, including the troll king and his children, searched the underbrush of the forest, none of them having the sense to look up. As they watched the trolls run past, Arthur discreetly kept an eye on Merlin, making sure the shoes were as far out of his reach as possible.

Merlin, though, was less worried about the shoes and more worried about the trolls finding him again. He anxiously clung to a vine in front of him, tightening his grip until his knuckles were white. Arthur laid a reassuring hand on them, and after a while the trolls disappeared farther into the forest.

"The beanstalks have a very potent smell." He whispered, leaned in close to Merlin. "It puts off the dogs."

"You don't have to tell me." Merlin muttered, trying hard not to gag at the terrible scent.

Arthur smiled."We'll stay up here until it's safe."

They sat in silence, Arthur keeping an eye out for anymore trolls and Merlin staring at the half-wolf suspiciously.

"How exactly did you get caught up in all this?" The raven-haired boy spoke up, breaking the silence.

Arthur bit his lip and looked away, embarrassed. "I…uh… happened to find myself at a loose end…"

"You were locked up in that prison, weren't you?" His tone wasn't judgmental, just curious. "What were you in for?"

Arthur sighed. "Not much, just a bit of sheep-worrying. Putting a wolf in a prison cell with nowhere to bound, only being able to stare at the sky through bars; now  _that_  is inhumane!"

Merlin nodded in understanding. "Do you think I should put them on again?"

The wolf frowned in confusion. "What?"

"The shoes. I mean they're probably fully charged by now-"

"No!" Arthur moved the shoes away as Merlin reached to take them.

"They're mine!" the boy growled, making another grab for them, but quickly pulled back in fright, all thoughts of the shoes forgotten. "What is that?"

Arthur looked to see what he meant and blushed. "That's my tail."

"Your tail?" Merlin's eyes widened in surprise as he stared down at the tuft of fur lying between them, now noticing that it was poking out the back of Arthur's trousers. "You have a tail?"

"Yes." Arthur scoffed, still blushing. "You have gorgeously plump lips; I don't go on about them all the time." Merlin grinned and the wolf gave him a small shove. "Shut up, Merlin."

"I didn't say anything." The raven laughed, still staring.

"You can pet it if you want."

Merlin looked up at Arthur's amused face. "What?"

"It's perfectly normal."

Merlin rolled his eyes. "If it's so normal, why do you keep it hidden all the time?"

"Well, if you haven't noticed, people don't really like wolves." Arthur smiled and nodded towards the tail. "Go on."

Merlin hesitantly reached his hand down and brushed his fingers gently over the fur."It's very soft." He commented, chuckling at Arthur's blissful sigh.

"Thank you."

 


	7. Shawshank Redemption

 

The sun rose over Snow White Memorial Prison as the work detail was led outside to the edge of the river chained together by their ankles. The guards stopped them ten feet from the bank and stood at attention as the governor strode out to address the prisoners.

"Pay attention." He demanded, sending an extremely cold look to Gwaine, who stood at the front of the line, and motioning to a large pile of junk near the prison walls. "You will hand this junk up one item at a time down the line and then chuck it into that boat." He pointed to a barge tied off near the bank of the river and Gwaine frowned.

"Um, excuse me?" He called, looking at the distance between them and the boat. "It's a long way away, isn't it? I mean, aren't you worried about us breaking some of the more fragile objects?"

The governor, who detested being questioned, approached the brunette and sneered. "What do you think this is, Ambrosias? A fairy-princess tea party? This is scrap. Now do as you're told and shut up."

The prisoners began passing down an assortment of rubbish, from old pottery to faded china, and Gwaine tossed it towards the boat each time, wincing as whatever object it was shattered on impact. This continued for about an hour until he noticed a familiar item being passed down the line.

The mirror.

The one thing that could take him and Merlin home, and it was less than twelve feet away from him. He cringed when he remembered that he was going to have to toss it into the boat when it finally reached him.

What if it shattered like everything else? How would he and Merlin get home then? Plus, wasn't breaking a mirror seven years bad luck or something? If magic worked, then did back luck work too?

All of these thoughts ran through Gwaine's head until he finally found the mirror in his hands. He hastily examined it, trying to find out how to turn it on. "Mirror, on!" he whispered, ignoring the looks his fellow prisoners were now giving him. "Mirror, on!"

"What are you doing?" The governor demanded with a scowl.

Gwaine looked sheepishly up at the man. "I…uh…I'm frightened it will get broken." He stammered.

"Ambrosias, if you refuse to throw that mirror into that boat, I will push you into the river." The governor threatened, face turning red. "And, as you are connected by leg irons, your fellow inmates will join you and also, sadly, drown."

Gwaine looked down the line to see death glares being pointed his way and groaned. Saying a silent prayer, he tossed the mirror towards the boat and squeezed his eyes closed, waiting for the sound of glass breaking. He let out a small cheer when he opened his eyes and saw that it had made it into the barge without breaking. The pot it landed on, well , that was another story.

* * *

 

Loud groans echoed through the forest as three tired trolls staggered tiredly behind the troll king towards the prison.

"Dad?" Valiant spoke up, yawning loudly after searching all night for the warlock. "Not that I'm questioning your judgment or anything, but why are we heading back to prison? We just got out."

Cenred stopped to face his children. "Why did the warlock steal the magic shoes?" he asked slowly, as though talking to a small child. The three trolls looked between each other and shrugged, the little brain capacity they had already burnt out from lack of sleep. The troll king rolled his eyes. "To break into the prison."

"Oh." The three exclaimed in unison. Sophia pointed to the small sack of flour in her father's hands.

"What's that for then?"

He let out an exasperated sigh. "We're going to sprinkle it outside the entrance to the prison, and check every fifteen minutes for invisible footprints."

"Great idea, Dad!" Cedric cheered, but the king ignored him and continued back to the prison, his children now eagerly following.

* * *

 

Arthur hoped he'd never see that stone building again. The memory of being dragged through the corridors and forcefully shoved into a tiny cell with a small slit in the wall for a window was still very fresh in his brain. But, it was for Merlin, who was determined to rescue his brother with or without his help.

The pair were knelt behind a large bush near the prison walls, and Arthur could almost smell Merlin's worry.

"Do you think that Gwaine's alright?" he asked, biting his lip anxiously. "I mean, he's only been in there a day. He can survive a day, right?"

Arthur considered this. "Well," he answered honestly, "from what I know about your brother, I sincerely doubt it."

Merlin winced at the truth in this statement and stood up from their hiding place, but Arthur pulled him back down.

"Trolls." He whispered, pointing to four figures sneaking around the prison gates.

Merlin glanced around, looking for another entrance. "Now what?"

Arthur thought for a second before turning to face him. "Okay, I have an idea. You wait here and I'll put on the shoes, then I'll go inside and pre-"

"No!" Merlin interrupted, pulling the shoes away from him. "You'll never come back.  _You just want them for yourself!_ "

Arthur pulled the shoes back. "No, I don't!"

"Yes, you do!"

Merlin pulled them away again and Arthur growled. "Alright, I do. But I'm trying to fight it, unlike you!"

Merlin glared back at him dangerously. "How about I wear the shoes and you hold on to me and that way we'll both be invisible?" He suggested, trying to grab the shoes back, but Merlin moved out of reach.

"I will wear them and  _you_  will hold on to  _me._ " He shot back as he began slipping them on.

"You are hopelessly addicted to those shoes." Arthur accused, holding Merlin's arm, nervously adding as they disappeared, "And I'm not far behind."

* * *

 

The guards forcefully dragged Gwaine back to his cell after he finished loading the boat, making him wonder how he was going to get back out to get the mirror back. They threw him inside without a second look and slammed the cell door closed. Gwaine frowned when he saw his cellmates standing at the middle of the cell, staring back at him in surprise. His frown transformed into a grin when he noticed the list of rules that usually hung on the back wall were now lying on the floor and in their place was now

"A tunnel!" He practically jumped for joy, until he noticed that Lancelot and Percival were watching him suspiciously.

"Think we can trust him?" Lancelot asked, looking up at the half-giant who gave a slight nod.

He pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to Gwaine with a smile. "We can trust him."

Gwaine looked down at what he'd been given and saw that it was the soap carving that Percival had been working on the day before, now finished. He shoved it into his pocket before seeing what it was of and smiled back.

* * *

_It should not be this easy breaking into prison._  Merlin thought as he and Arthur slunk through the hallways of the stone prison.  _Really, it's a wonder the queen didn't escape earlier._

He felt Arthur's grip on him tighten and he looked to see a terrifying older man walk out a door at the end of the hall.

"That's the governor's office." The wolf whispered next to his ear. "There will be a list of prisoners and their cell numbers inside."

Merlin nodded but, remembering that Arthur wouldn't be able to see him, he squeezed his hand in response. The pair quietly walked into the room, and the first thing Merlin noticed was a black dog tied to the desk.

"It's Morgana. We have to grab her." He reached down to untie the rope that tied her to the desk.

"No, no, no. The shoes won't take an extra person." Arthur protested to deaf ears. "She'll drain all of their magic and then we'll become visible!" But the shoes' magic was already surrounding the dog and in a few seconds she was invisible along with them. Arthur groaned and looked over a list on the desk.

"Gwaine is in cell 304." He mumbled, grabbing the keys off the wall.

They barely made it into the cell when the shoes' magic began to sputter and suddenly the three were standing visible in Gwaine's cell. Unfortunately, they were the only ones in Gwaine's cell.

"Now, where could he have gone? We're in a prison." Merlin asked, closing the cell door so no guards would come by.

Morgana rushed over to a list of rules posted on the wall, barking when she noticed an opening behind it. Arthur ripped the list off the wall and let out a low whistle.

"Wow, your brother works fast." He remarked, staring into a long tunnel in the wall. "Into the tunnel?" He looked over at the raven-haired boy, who shrugged.

They crawled through the dark tunnel as quietly as they could, hoping that it took them outside rather than somewhere else. Arthur began taking very deep breaths the longer they were in there, his claustrophobia getting the better of him. A small amount of light peaked out in front of him and he crawled faster, only to be stopped in his tracks by some kind of obstruction.

"What is it?" Merlin whispered from behind him.

"There's something blocking the tunnel." He responded, trying to keep panic out of his voice. He caught a familiar scent, like stale beer and dirt, and his eyebrows knit together. "Gwaine, is that you?"

"Who the hell is that?" A voice called back.

"It's me, Arthur. I gave you the magic bean, remember?"

"You stay the hell away from me!"

 _I guess that's a yes._ Arthur thought, rolling his eyes. "We're in a tunnel together, Gwaine. How am I supposed to do that?"

He heard a resigned sigh. "I'm almost out, but I'm hung on something and can't get loose."

Arthur used what little light there was to search for whatever the brunette was hung on before giving up and attempting to push him out. Gwaine was suddenly launched from the opening of the tunnel with Arthur falling out on top of him.

"Thanks." He muttered, dusting himself off. His face brightened when a mop of raven hair pushed itself out of the tunnel.

"Merlin!" Gwaine shouted as Arthur helped the boy climb out. He ran over and grabbed his little brother in his arms, too happy for words. Merlin chuckled.

"I'm fine, Gwaine. Really." He reassured as they pulled apart. Morgana jumped down to the ground with a bark, breaking the moment.

"The mirror!" Gwaine exclaimed suddenly. "We moved it this morning onto a barge!"

He ran around to the edge of the river with Merlin, Arthur and Morgana following close behind. He stopped at an empty dock.

"It was right here! Lancelot and Percival must have taken it!"

Merlin pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes and groaned in frustration, while Arthur bit back a small grin. Merlin would be staying with him a bit longer.

* * *

 

The trolls followed Cenred's plan, sprinkling the flour at the entrance to check every fifteen minutes, and it wasn't long before they were rewarded with two sets of footprints in the white powder. Cenred ordered his children to watch the exits for the warlock and this 'Arthur'. Hopefully, they wouldn't try escaping through the mirror.

"There they are!" He heard Sophia call, and the trolls turned their attention to a small boat docked at the bank of the river. The raven haired warlock stood towards the bow, untying the boat from the dock. Next to him was a larger man with light blond hair and a long brown coat trying to help, but the boy kept swatting away his hands. On the other side of the deck, another man was standing next to a black dog, which he recognized as Princess Morgana. He smirked at the fact that he could now kill two birds with one stone.

"What are you waiting for?" he shouted, shaking his children from their daze. "After them!"

* * *

 

"I have it, Arthur!" Merlin scolded, slapping the wolf's hands away from the rope again. The blond stood up and looked back at the prison, frowning as he spotted three figures pursuing them.

"Oh, cripes!" he cursed, recognizing them as the troll king's Merlin's protests, he reached down and pulled the rope loose, allowing them to drift away from the shore.

Merlin screamed as Valiant jumped from the river bank and clung to the back of the boat. Reacting quickly, he swung a piece wood from the deck down on the burly troll's head forcing him to let go and fall into the river. Arthur and Gwaine both let out a cheer as the boat floated further and further from the trolls, who were now all three floating in the river looking back at the shore, where their father stood shaking his head.

"Pitiful." Cenred spat, looking over his children with distaste. "You dare call yourselves my children? You-" The troll king took a sharp intake of breath as a terrible pain filled his head, filling it with one thought.

"Mirror…" he moaned, barely noticing his children's worried faces as they approached him. "Find me a mirror…"

The trolls rushed into a shack on the outskirts of Beantown, where Cedric found a large but simple mirror and held it in front of his father. Valiant and Sophia gasped when the queen's face reflected back at them, an annoyed smirk on her lips.

"Hello, Cenred. Thank you so much for joining me."

The troll king glowered back at her. "Do that to me again and I'll kill ya!"

"Of course, Your Majesty." She responded, her condescending tone not lost on him. "Do your children have the dog?"

Cenred looked around at his children, who were fidgeting uncomfortably. "Not exactly."

"You do surprise me, Cenred. How in the Nine Kingdoms could she possibly escape your tiny, little grasp?"

"Don't you talk to me like that!" he spat, but the queen ignored him.

"She must be captured. Send your children after her. And what are you still doing in Beantown? Return to your kingdom and await further instructions."

"I don't take orders from you-" he began, but Nimueh had already disappeared, the troll king's reflection in her place.

 


	8. Arthur's Promise and Gwaine's Goldfish

 

It was several hours later and the prison (and trolls) were far behind the small group heading upriver towards Rivertown, where Morgana predicted Lancelot and Percival would dock. Since then, the four had been quiet, each lost in their own thoughts. Arthur eventually broke the silence, frowning into the book he'd had his nose in for the past hour and glancing over at Merlin, who was sitting next to him on the deck with the troll king's magic shoes in his hands.

"Merlin?"

The raven boy looked up at him with a small smile.

"Would you say that you were 'desperately hungry for love and approval, but destined for rejection'?"

Merlin rolled his eyes with a chuckle. "I'm happy as I am thanks."

The two continued looking at each other for a few seconds until Arthur suddenly lunged at the other boy and snatched the shoes away.

"No!" Merlin yelled as the shoes were tossed over into the river. He got to his feet to dive in after them, but Arthur wrapped an arm around his waist to restrain him.

"You threw away my shoes!" Merlin fought to pull himself out of his hold, but Arthur was already dragging him away from the side.

"I had to; it was for your own good!" the wolf argued. "You were already thinking about wearing them tonight, weren't you?"

Merlin stopped struggling and turned to look Arthur in the eye. "How did you-"

"Magic is very nice, but it's very easy to get addicted."

Merlin cast a final look after his shoes. "But, why didn't you want them? Why could you resist them and I couldn't?"

Arthur sighed, knowing the answer wasn't one Merlin probably wanted to hear. "Because," he responded gently, "You have such a strong desire to be invisible."

With those words, the half-wolf stood up and walked over towards the stern of the boat, where Gwaine and Morgana were having a conversation of their own.

* * *

 

After being locked up in prison, even if it was only one day, Gwaine couldn't get enough of the fresh air. He looked back at Merlin and Arthur talking at the bow of the boat. He didn't particularly like the way the blond stared at his little brother all the time, or how close he was standing to him right now, but Merlin seemed to trust him, and that was enough for him.

Morgana, who was observing the two with him, disagreed.

 _"Gwaine,"_ she called to the brunette, who nodded in acknowledgement.  _"If you value the safety of your brother, we need to get rid of this 'Arthur' character. He's a half-wolf, and he'll have Merlin for breakfast."_

Gwaine frowned but before he could question the princess on this, Arthur decided to walk away from Merlin and over to where they were sitting.

"Ears were burning." The wolf smirked, looking between the two.

Gwaine tilted his head towards Morgana. "She says she doesn't trust you."

Arthur sneered at the dog. "Good. I don't trust her, either. A dog is just a wolf crossed with an old pillow. Tail-wagging little slipper collectors." He growled before turning back to Gwaine. "Besides, in her kingdom, wolves can be shot on sight."

 _"That's because wolves are nothing more than chicken-rustling, sheep-worrying Granny-eaters."_ The princess shot back, even though Arthur couldn't understand her.  _"I mean, really. Name one story where a wolf is a good guy."_

As if sensing her answer, Arthur scoffed. "Tell me something, Gwaine. Besides dragging you both into this mess and get you into trouble, what has she really done so far?" He leaned in towards Morgana. "Let me answer that: Nothing."

"I, on the other hand, have saved your lives so many times that I have actually lost count."

He stuck his finger in Morgana's face. "So what do you think about-  _ow!_ "

He pulled his hand away from the princess, who was practically smiling in delight after biting the wolf's finger.

Gwaine sighed and reached into his pocket, pulling something strange out of it. Now recognizing it as the soap carving Percival gave him, he looked closer at it, not having time back at the prison to see what it was. It was a tiny heroic statue of three people and a dog all standing together with an engraving at the bottom that read:

'The Four Who Saved the Nine Kingdoms of Camelot'

His eyes widened when he recognized the three people as himself, Merlin and Arthur and he quickly chucked it overboard.

 _"What was that?"_  Morgana asked when the carving made a small  _sploosh_  in the water. Gwaine shrugged innocently and looked back over the water silently.

* * *

 

Cenred was fuming after his conversation with Nimueh. No one told him what to do like some common lackey, especially when he was the one who freed her from prison. She should've been groveling at his feet in gratitude. He and his army marched through Beantown, kicking in the doors of both shops and houses as the king led the way towards town hall. An overweight man with short brown hair shuffled out.

"Your being here is violation of the treaty between the troll kingdom and the 4th kingdom." The man stammered nervously as Cenred continued to stride towards him. "As Mayor of Beantown, I, Tyr Seward, demand that you and your army leave, or Princess Morgana will have your heads."

The troll king, who now stood only a few inches from the man, let out a deep laugh before slamming his fist into Tyr's face, breaking his nose. Cenred continued past him and turned to face the people now standing in the streets.

"I am declaring on the 4th Kingdom and Princess Morgana!" he announced in an official voice. "If she does not meet my challenge within seven days, I will claim this entire kingdom as my own!"

 _This should get the queen's attention._ He thought, smirking at the looks of terror on the citizen's faces.

* * *

 

The sun rose too soon the next morning for Merlin. After turning down Arthur's offer of sleeping on the deck with him, Merlin had gone below decks to sleep on one of the two cots laid out in the cabin, which he soon discovered to be hard as a brick. Between that and the water constantly dripping on his forehead from the deck above, he barely slept a wink.

"G _oooo_ d Morning." A cheery voice called as Arthur practically skipped down into the cabin. "It's a beautiful morning in the 4th kingdom. Everyone sleep well?"

Merlin shoved his pillow over his face and let out a muffled groan. "I didn't sleep at all."

Arthur rushed over to the raven boy's bunk (tripping over Morgana, who was laid out on the floor, and waking up Gwaine in the process) and grinned down at him.

"You should've joined me out on the deck last night under the stars. It was quite magnificent."

Merlin lowered the pillow and rolled his eyes before standing up and walking to the other side of the cabin. Gwaine sat up as well and narrowed his eyes at the half-wolf.

"Hey, wolf-boy." Arthur turned to face the brunette. "I want you to stay away from my brother, you hear me? You've got a criminal record."

Arthur's eyebrows crinkled as he pursed his lips. "How am I supposed to stay away from him? We're on a very small boat, Gwaine. I might accidentally bump into him at any given moment."

"Hey!" Merlin shouted. "Can you both stop talking about me like I'm not here?"

Gwaine tried to stand up, but ended up knocking his head against the small shelf above his cot. Part of the wall fell open to reveal a large golden fish with sharp teeth in a glass container. "What the hell-"

Merlin, Arthur and Morgana gathered around Gwaine's bed to examine the brunette's discovery. "Do you think it's magic?"Gwaine asked.

"Cripes, yes." Arthur nodded. "This is the Golden River Gold Fish. The 'anything-you-touch-will-turn-to-gold' fish."

Merlin pointed to a small slip of paper sitting at the bottom of the container. "Hey, look. 'Stick your finger in my mouth; turn around til you face South. Touch a thing that you would prize and you will not believe your eyes. Here is magic to behold, all that glitters can be gold.'"

Gwaine's eyes widened. "Do you really think that it turns anything you touch into gold?"

"Yes." Arthur answered firmly. "But we don't need to turn anything to gold, do we Gwaine?"

"Well no, but you never know right? I mean gold is gold."

"I think it's best that we leave it alone." Arthur stated, turning to leave the cabin. Merlin nodded in agreement before following after the half-wolf. Gwaine barely noticed though, still staring at the fish.

 _"Don't even think about it."_ Morgana barked, seeing the look in the brunette's eye.  _"Nothing good can come from something like that. Knowing you, you'll accidentally turn someone to gold, and with my luck, it'd be me."_

* * *

 

The citizens of Beantown ran in panic as the troll king's forces swarmed through the town, beating and whipping those who didn't get away fast enough. Cenred, who sat on the throne the craftsmen had made for Princess Morgana's coronation, grinned when his lieutenant held up a small mirror that showed the queen frowning irritably.

"What do you think you are doing?" she demanded, crossing her arms in disgust. "We had a bargain that you would get half of Morgana's kingdom in return for your cooperation. You were supposed to return to your kingdom, not stay in the 4th kingdom!"

"To Hell with you, lady." Cenred spat disrespectfully. "You haven't done a thing since I broke you out of prison."

Nimueh bit back a scolding remark and took a deep breath. "It is essential that Morgana's coronation goes on as planned. If you stay there, a crisis will ensue."

The troll king snorted, causing the queen to lose all of her remaining patience. "Leave Beantown, return to your kingdom or YOU WILL RUIN EVERYTHING!"

"I might, I might not." He replied, unfazed by the queen's outburst. "By the way, how are my children doing?"

"Their intellect and bravery quite take my breath away." Nimueh said sarcastically.

"Well, just make sure that they get home in one piece."

The queen rolled her eyes and decided to try playing nice. "Your majesty, if you'll only be patient, I'll deliver you half of Morgana's kingdom on a silver platter."

"But I'm hungry now."

"Imbecile!" Nimueh shouted, cutting off the mirror's connection with the troll king. "And why haven't you found her yet?" she demanded, rounding on one of her other mirrors

 _She is with others. But I cannot see them._ A crackly voice whispered back.

The queen furrowed her brow. "Who?"

_Three travel with Morgana; one who can speak with her and one who can hurt you. They are travelling down the river towards us…unknowingly._

Nimueh grinned. "Show me."

_I cannot._

Nimueh thought for a moment and an evil smirk formed on her face. "Arthur Pendragon is with them. Work on him.  _Make_  him speak to me."

* * *

 

Arthur stood alone in the cabin, freshening up before dinner. "Have to look my best." He hummed, gazing at himself in the mirror as he ran his fingers through his hair. Suddenly, a familiar woman with striking blue eyes appeared in the glass.

"Hello, Arthur." The queen smiled when the half-wolf screamed and jumped away from the mirror. "You swore to obey me, remember?"

The blond shook his head in disbelief. "No! Go away! Leave me alone!"

"Yes." The queen nodded. "You are mine to control. Now, why can't I see your companions? What magic is going on?"

"Magic… what…" Arthur began to mutter incoherently, still not believing what the queen was saying. He thought that he'd gotten away; that when he became a changed man, things would be different. But he'd forgotten all about his deal with Nimueh, about swearing his allegiance to her. A small wave of relief washed over him when he heard that she couldn't see Merlin, but how long would that last? How long would it keep him safe? The wolf was broken from this train of thought by footsteps coming down the stairs. He quickly flipped the mirror around to face the wall, keeping the queen from seeing whoever had joined him below decks. It was Gwaine.

"Hey, wolf-boy. Are you going to start dinner sometime or what?" the brunette asked, not noticing Arthur's shaky demeanor. He just nodded and ran from the cabin, trying to get that horrible conversation out of his head.

"Hey, are you alright?" Arthur heard Merlin ask as he climbed up on deck. The wolf looked over at the raven boy, who was petting Morgana and watching him with concern. His heart fluttered then sunk to his stomach when he remembered the queen's words. Should he tell Merlin about her? Surely he'd understand. Maybe he could help.

 _Or maybe he'd hate you_ a little voice of doubt whispered.  _Maybe he'd send you away and never want to see you again._

"Arthur?" Merlin called. "Is everything okay?"

He couldn't let Merlin know.

"Yes." He lied, putting a fake smile on his face.

Merlin frowned, obviously not buying the act but, before he could question it, they heard a loud crash echo from the cabin. Merlin jumped up and ran down the stairs, only to see broken glass littered all over the floor and Gwaine standing by his cot with his hands behind his back and a guilty expression on his face.

"Everything's fine. Really." His brother tried to reassure him, but Merlin looked over the brunette's shoulder to see that the container surrounding the gold fish had been busted.

"Gwaine," he said calmly. "Did you stick your finger in that fish's mouth?"

"I- technically I mean… well… yes." A wide grin spread across his face as he held up his left hand, his pinky finger glowing gold with magic while Merlin gaped at him in disbelief. "Merls, don't worry about it. We're rich, we're our own bank! I could turn this whole boat into solid gold!"

"Yeah, and then it'd sink and we'd all drown!" Merlin shouted, not believing his brother's stupidity. Gwaine shrugged.

"Okay, good point. Bad example. I'll save it for the right thing."

Merlin rolled his eyes and put his head in his hands. "Just… be careful with that thing." He responded, ducking out of the way of Gwaine's finger as he passed by to climb back on deck.


	9. All that glitters

Within a few hours, Rivertown was in view and Merlin stood at the stern of the boat, squinting his eyes to see if he could spot Lancelot or Percival.

"Wait… there! Isn't that the boat they took?" he asked Gwaine. His brother nodded in response.

"Yeah, it looks right."

"How long until we get there?" Merlin turned to Arthur, who stood at the side of the boat, staring across the water at a large, ruined castle perched on the river bank. "Hey, Arthur. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just… a feeling, I guess. " He responded. Merlin followed his gaze and nodded.

"Yeah, that castle's kind of giving me the creeps, too."

Morgana trotted across the deck and leaned her paws against the railing next to him to get a better look.  _"Gwaine, I feel strange. I know this sounds odd, but I feel as though I'm… two people at once."_

Gwaine frowned. "What?"

_"I think it has something to do with that castle over there. I have to go there, my body could be there."_

"Morgana, it's just a ruined old castle. There is nothing there."

Merlin and Arthur both turned to look at the brunette and the dog. "What are you talking about?" Merlin asked with a furrowed brow. Gwaine sighed.

"Morgana says that she needs to go to that castle, something about her body being there."

Suddenly, the princess jumped up onto the railing and, before anyone could stop her, leapt into the river.

"Morgana! What are you doing?" Merlin yelled after her, but if she heard him, she didn't acknowledge it as she began swimming away from the boat. The three stood and watched as she continued towards the river bank, safely making it there before running off towards the castle.

Gwaine turned to Arthur and Merlin. "We need to go after her!"

"Why?" Arthur asked with a shrug. "She wants to be on her own, I say let her. Besides, we need to catch up to the mirror, right?" The wolf shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, hoping that someone would agree with him. Though he really didn't want to get to the mirror any quicker than necessary (since that meant Merlin leaving sooner), he also wanted to stay as far away from the castle as humanly possible, and if that meant leaving that spoiled rotten princess behind and getting to Rivertown faster, so be it.

He grinned as Merlin hesitantly nodded. "He's right, Gwaine. If Morgana wants to go and do…whatever it is she's doing, why should we stop her? I'm sure she can take care of herself."

Gwaine's worry didn't falter, but he eventually gave a submissive sigh. "Yeah, alright. I just… I don't like the idea of leaving her."

What none of them noticed was a small boat with three trolls inside, rowing towards the same castle.

* * *

Dog Morgana looked down at the food on the table in front of her and frowned. The instructions her mistress had left her before leaving to speak with the trolls were very clear –use her paws… _hands_  and not her face when she ate. Dog Morgana gripped the fork and knife uncertainly in her hands and began chopping into the grilled fish on her plate.

When it was practically minced, she smiled with a sense of pride, which was quickly shattered when she heard a dog bark nearby.

"Me?" she whispered, rising from her chair. She crept over to a small opening in the wall above her head and furrowed her brow curiously. Suddenly, a familiar black snout stuck through the opening and she let out a small cheer.

"Hello. You're me!"

The real Princess Morgana reached a paw through the opening, hoping that the dog understood what they needed to do.

 _"Come on, you stupid mutt."_ She grumbled in her head.  _"Just touch my paw and we'll turn back."_

The dog princess reached up to the opening, but it was too high up and they're hands were still inches apart. The real Morgana pulled away her paw and sighed.

 _"I know you can't understand me, but I'm going to get help. Stay here."_ She turned and ran away from the opening and Dog Morgana felt the little hope that had grown since seeing her true self shriveled.

* * *

Merlin's jaw dropped in disbelief at what the harbor man was telling him. "What do you mean he's gone?"

The man shrugged. " 'andsome bloke sold me this boat, took everything in it and packed it into a cart. 'e and 'is giant buddy left into the forest about 'alf an 'our ago."

Merlin groaned and covered his face with his hands. "Thanks anyway."

The harbor man walked to the other side of the dock, leaving Merlin feeling more than a little dejected. Arthur, who'd been standing beside him, put an arm over the raven boy's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Merlin. We tried."

Removing his hands from his face, Merlin shrugged the arm off. "You make it sound like we're giving up. Gwaine and I are going in that forest after it, with or without you." He frowned. "Speaking of which, where is Gwaine? I haven't seen him since we got off the boat."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "If I know your brother, he's probably getting himself into trouble trying to find something to turn into gold."

Merlin anxiously bit at his thumbnail. "I'm worried. The trolls are still out there. Morgana ran off god knows where. You don't suppose he went to look for her, do you?"

As if to answer his question, Gwaine suddenly came rushing down the road. He skidded to a stop in front of them. A nervous smile was painted on his face. "I have good news and bad news."

Merlin and Arthur shared a look. "Gwaine," Merlin asked slowly "what happened?"

"Well, I went looking for Morgana…" Merlin and Arthur both let out loud groans. "Now, now." Gwaine shushed them before continuing. "I found her, but so did the trolls."

"So, that's the bad news?" Merlin asked. Gwaine shook his head.

"No, I defeated them. Single-handedly." Merlin's eyes widened in amazement, but Arthur now eyed him skeptically.

"You're hiding something." The wolf accused. "What's the bad news, Gwaine?"

Gwaine took a deep breath and began shuffling his feet guiltily. "Do you think that that harbor man has a hammer and chisel by chance?"

"Gwaine," Merlin crossed his arms over his chest. "What exactly  _is_  the bad news?"

Without another word, the brunette turned and led them back up the road he'd run from. When he finally came to a stop, Merlin and Arthur both gaped in horror. Gwaine just sighed.

"I think she'll come apart from them quite easily."

In front of them was Princess Morgana running away from the clutches of Valiant, Sophia and Cedric. Cedric's fingers were just making contact with Morgana's fur. The only thing preventing the trolls from taking the princess now was that all four of them were now made completely out of gold. With a quick glance down at Gwaine's hand, Merlin could see that it no longer glittered with the fish's gold magic.

He shook his head. "Oh, poor Morgana."


End file.
